Not I, but the Lord

 The letter of 1 Corinthians chapter 7 is about marriage.  It is pretty straight forward, and full of advice on marriage, virgins, believers with unbelievers, and divorce.   There are some statements though in this chapter that have puzzled me, and that I have been asked about by people before so I thought I would study it and share my finding's here.  

1 Corinthians 7:10   To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband

1 Corinthians 7:12   To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.

I have done posts in the past on marriage and divorce, so I will not go into those topics, rather, I would like to concentrate on the words in parenthesis: (not I, but the Lord) and (I, not the Lord).  I am a fundamentalist and take the Bible as complete, inerrant, and the only source of absolute truth.  I believe 100 percent and whole heartily that it is the Word of God to us.  So, with that being said, how are we to understand what Paul means here in one verse saying the Lord commands, not Paul, and two verses later that Paul commands, not the Lord. 

I have had questions posed to me about these verses before and you know nonbelievers love to use these verses for the argument that the bible is an old man-written book with merely the opinions of men only, not God.  Well, these verses do imply that on the surface, but if we look into the whole of scripture we will find out that it's actually quite simple.  In verse 10, Paul's says not I but the Lord, we can simply go back to the teachings of our Lord Jesus and see that He did teach on this topic. Matthew 5:31-32  “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’  But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

So we see that what Paul is talking about as far as marriage in verse 10 of 1 Corinthians chapter 7, Jesus has already taught us about during His earthly ministry.  This whole chapter deals with marriage and this spot in the chapter is a topic Christ has taught about.  However, when we look at verse 12 we see that Paul states "I not the Lord" and to that we simply look at the all the scripture again.  And what you will find is that in all the gospels we do not have Jesus teaching specifically on the topic of unbelievers and believers who are living together married.  This is talking about if a person becomes a believer and their spouse is not, well it is up the believer to stay and live in harmony with spouse, only is the spouse allowed to leave if they can't stand living with the Christian convert they are married to.  What was happening in Corinth is there were Christians who felt they should leave their unbelieving spouses, and Paul addresses this issue along with many others in the book of 1 Corinthians.  This was a young church struggling with carnality, and with the separating of their new faith in the Lord from their old idolatrous and pagan ways.

Do you remember who called Paul to be an apostle?  In Acts 9 you see that Jesus Christ himself calls Paul to be an apostle on the Damascus road experience.  So, unlike many liberals and progressives who distort and mock the scriptures, one can only come to the conclusion that Paul is writing not from his own feelings or opinions, rather is writing that which God appointed him to write.  Therefore it is all inspired from God and the very commands of God.  I do love how God will pen His words through men, yet allow their personalities and character to be in it.  That is what makes the scriptures so true and reliable.  An editor or someone trying to make this up would never allow many of the things in the Bible to be there. 

If we as Christians cannot trust the scriptures, what is there we can trust?  Paul said it best in 2 Timothy 3:16-17  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.         (ESV)

We can trust God's Word, it's the only thing on this planet that contains absolute truth.  When we come to verses that stump or trouble us, study it and investigate it. The answers are there to those who seek with a true and pure heart for God.  I pray that we all draw closer to God reading His Word daily and obeying His commands always. 

Chris

Love

Here's a loaded question. What is love? What is your definition of love? That is a question that has gotten quite a few strange looks and answers when I have asked it. Christians will say, well God is love. We know God is love, but that is a definition that defines an attribute of God rather than a definition of the word. I have been looking into scripture and listening to sermons on love, and I have come across an interesting little fact, the Bible never defines the word love. Amazing isn't it? The Bible never defines love, rather it describes it.

We all know or have heard the love chapter found in 1 Corinthians chapter thirteen. Movies have this in them, weddings, and many people quote parts of it all the time.

1 Corinthians 13 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I made verses four to seven bold in this chapter because that is the biblical description of love. Now, as we read these verses we see that love is described by adjectives here, as in all our English translations (the translation I used here is the NASB). An interesting fact though, is if you study the Greek version of this, the language they penned it in biblical times, you will see that all these words were used in verb form. What is a verb? Well it's a word that shows an action. This is the description of love, these things in action.

Something we always miss in the definition of love is we say it's a feeling, or abstract, or an attitude. Well according to this I would have to disagree. Love is not an attitude, for attitudes are not reliable. Love is also not a feeling, though that's how our society defines it this day. Lets be honest, how reliable are our feelings? One day we feel one thing and the next it's different and so it goes. If we rely on feelings we are in essence relying on our own wisdom (man's wisdom is foolishness to God).

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends

I could give many more examples of God's love, for His love is always in action. Read the scriptures and make note of every time God shows His love in an action, your page will fill up with verses rather quickly.

Many people these days are all about God's love, and that's good in a sense, however it is more times than not turned into a mushy crazed feeling that totally misses the true aspect of what His love is. Another thing (and this drives me crazy) is that so many progressives, liberals, and emergents are overemphasizing God's love, to the point of turning God into something He is not. A type of love that goes contrary to what scripture teaches, to the extent of turning God into a universalist, or a pacifist "sissy". Don't fall for these foolish teachings, for they are heresy and contradict God's word over and over. God is love, and thankfully so. Lets just be discerning and know the true essence of that love. May god's peace and blessings be with you.

This is a portion of a sermon by John MacArthur, (the best modern day preacher since Spurgeon) who inspires me to write these blogs and who fills my head with much of the information I use, and it is a story that shows the true demonstration of love (in action):

Abraham Lincoln made a lot of friends, made some enemies. One man who became a... rather outspoken enemy was named Stanton, some of you historians remember him. Stanton just despised Lincoln. In fact, in print he called him "a low, cunning clown." And on one occasion he nicknamed him "The original Gorilla." And he said that: "It was ridiculous for people to go to Africa wandering around trying to find a gorilla when they could find one easily in Springfield, Illinois." Very bitter toward Lincoln and Lincoln never ever replied to him, never said a word to him.

It came time to choose war minister for the United States government and Lincoln chose Stanton. Somebody said, "Why?" He said, "Because he's the best man."

The years wore on an the biographer said this, "The night when the assassin's bullet tore at Lincoln's life, in the little room to which the President's body was taken there stood that same Stanton, looking down into the silent face of Lincoln in all its ruggedness and speaking through his tears these words, quote: 'There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen,' end quote."

He never accepted Lincoln's politics but he couldn't resist his patience. He couldn't resist the non-retaliating spirit of the man.

Perserverance of the Saints

Perseverance of the saints is also the doctrine referred to as once saved always saved, also called eternal security.

So is this doctrine right? Is it biblical? If you are into modern day evangelical Christianity, you are on one of two sides. Either you believe we can gain salvation and lose it at a later date due to rebellion, disobedience, or whatnot (Arianism). This one sounds logical, and is what many in a great majority of modern Christianity believe today. The doctrine of perseverance of the saints (eternal security which is how I will refer to it from now on) states the belief that a believer (a true believer) on the day of their new life in Christ will persevere until the end because of God's sanctifying work in them. In other words, they cannot lose their salvation because God will not allow them to fall away to that extent because of the work He started in them.

I want to be up front before I get started in this that I used to be an Armenian in the sense that I thought a person could indeed lose their salvation. However, upon studying the scriptures and leaving all preconceived notions behind and taking the Bible for what it says, I have found that scripture teaches undeniably that God's children can not and will not ever lose the gift of salvation God has granted them. There are far too many verses that support eternal security, and only a handful of verses (taken out of context) that support one can lose their salvation.

The first argument people use to argue against eternal security is the misconception that it teaches a Christian can live a lazy rebellious life that gives a person a license to sin. However this is not at all what it teaches, rather I am aware that Jesus said in John 14:15 "If you love Me you will keep my commandments" When a person is truly saved, they are born again by the Holy Spirit and by nature desire to keep our Lord's commandments and to walk in a manner worthy of the calling from God we have received. (Colossians 1:10, Ephesians 4:1)

Where a lot of people misunderstand this doctrine, is they fall into the modern "easy believeism" where they think that if a person merely recites a prayer, walks down an aisle, or signs a card they are justified and saved. These things are good, but the true point of salvation and the genuine faith that saves is when God's Spirit comes upon you through His calling us, causing a death to our old lives and rebirth into new life unto Him. Many people have walked an aisle or said a prayer, yet in truth they were wrapped up in a moment and truth be told, their voices confessed Him yet their hearts were far from Him. (Matthew 15:8) They are also the rocky soil in the parable of the sower that heard the truth, got excited but when trials and life came they had no root.(Matthew 13) So these people look like they believed and lost there salvation later on. My question is, were they ever even saved? That is the to the heart question of this doctrine, do people lose their salvation or did they never have it to begin with? I am gonna use a phrase from another blog I read that made me laugh: but with all the progressive liberal theology crap out there, God is not their Sovereign Almighty God the Bible makes Him out to be, rather He is their bearded girlfriend the way they make Him out to be. It's actually ridiculous.

God will not give a person a gift of salvation and at a later date take it back because of something you did or didn't do. That is preaching a gospel of works, which as we know the Bible does not teach.(Ephesians 2:8-9) People have told me, well you can give back the gift, God doesn't take it away. Ok. Let me ask you, is God up in Heaven, oblivious to who His children are? Last time I checked He was omnipotent, omnipresence, and sovereign, therefore you can't trick Him, you can't surprise Him by saying, I know you gave me this salvation gift thingy, but I'm good, I don't want it. Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? It's because it is. Picture this, you are a father with a four year old. You are walking across a busy four lane highway at rush hour, your child is holding your hand, as well as you holding his. If your child lets go of your hand, will he be able to run out into harms way without you? Not if you have a good grip, as any loving father would, on his hand. Just because the child let go doesn't mean that you will. You will keep your child in the right path and direction, and that is exactly what God does for those who are His.

John 10:27-30 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."I and the Father are one."

Romans 8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED. "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

This blog has got too long, so leave me a comment for more passages on eternal security if you want to delve into it deeper. This is an important doctrine, and please, I beg of you, don't think it is one that says it gives the believer a license to sin as so many opponents to the doctrine teach. People that do indeed use it as a doctrine to sin, well Jesus said you will know them by their fruits. Just because a cow dresses up like a chicken, it's still a cow. Just because a person claims to be a Christian, if there has not been a transformed life from old to new, a born again experience if you will, then their fruits will not be that of the righteousness of God. Be careful of this, for there are many teachers out there that are not even saved, for they are the ones talked about throughout the entire New Testament, the false teachers/apostates. Remember this, those who He calls He justifies(salvation), He then sanctifies(sets aside as holy), then glorifies(our glorified state in heaven). That is a promise I thank God He gave us, because lets be honest, if it were up us to keep our salvation, no one would ever be saved. Praise God for His power and promises.
May Gods peace and blessings be with you.

Lordship Salvation

Lordship salvation is the belief that a person has to accept the "whole package of Jesus Christ" Not just an easy believism and that's all. It's the belief that Jesus is not just a Savior that came into the world, but that He is also Lord. There's much more to it in a sense, but this is the overview of it.

Knowledge of the Facts—Faith must be based on the content of the Word of God.

Assent to this Knowledge—A person must agree that the facts of Scripture are true.

Repentance—There must be a turning from sin and turning towards God.

Submission to Christ—There must be a subjection to the person and will of Christ with a desire and willingness to obey.

There has been some controversy over the topic of lordship salvation for a while now and my question is: Why? Really, why is there so much controversy over this topic? There are arguments to both sides of this debate which sound biblical, but which one is correct? Well I can think of many scripture verses that support lordship salvation, but to make this blog not to drawn out lets look at this fact.

In the book of Acts alone, which is the starting point of the early church, the apostles preached Christ as Lord. So much so that Jesus is called Savior two times in the book of Acts, and He is called Lord ninety two times. If you were to do the math in the entire New Testament you would find that Jesus is called Savior less then ten times and is called Lord more then seven hundred times. Can we ignore such facts?

The gospel message calls us to confess that Jesus is Lord to be saved. Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Jesus is Lord, and if a person reads the New Testament and does not see that, they are blind. I don't say that to be rude or offensive, but rather to be truthful. Jesus Christ's Lordship is painted everywhere on the canvas of the New Testament. We are to put our faith in Him and confess that He is Lord, who He said He was over and over and over again.

Why confess His Lordship? Because confessing is owning up to what is true. Yes He is Savior too, but lets not forget that He would have to be Lord to be able to take the role as Savior. For men, and that goes for all men, are defiled and impure in the eyes of Our Heavenly Father. (Romans 3: 10 and 23) So man couldn't have died to save humanity from their sins and wickedness, unless He was the One True Son of God in human flesh.

I am not sure why people feel lordship salvation is wrong and unbiblical. The facts are there, in the scriptures. To preach Jesus as Savior alone takes away so much from the gospel message and allows people to think they may live carnal lives and still be a child of the One True God. This is something that should not and can not be done. I urge you to look into this topic more, for there is so much to it and this blog alone did not do it the justice it deserves. It's an important matter, so read your scriptures and get some good commentaries from Bible preaching men of God (none of that liberal progressive emergent garbage) and dig in. May God's peace and blessings be with you.

Women are preserved through child bearing?

1 Timothy 2:15 But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

I have read this verse many times before and never honestly knew how to take it or what it meant. Upon hearing a good sermon on the matter I have finally heard it explained in context to what the epistle of Timothy is about. Now, get your tomatoes out cause you're gonna want to throw them at me in this next statement. Women, according to the structure of the church and of the family play certain roles, and one of those roles is not as a pastor/teacher/elder of the church over men. I am not saying women can't teach, our church has women's groups for women taught by women and I think that is great. However, you will not find a class in our church that has women teaching men spiritually nor ever behind the pulpit. You may call me a sexist or what not, but remember I am merely a messenger so to speak, the fact that women are not to be heads over men does not originate with me, but throughout the pastoral epistles.(1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus) So to see the role of men and women I recommend reading and studying them, for I and you don't have enough time in this short blog to emphasize and show that thoroughly right now (though that may make a blog of mine in the future).

I mainly wanna look at the first verse I wrote (1 Timothy 2:15). What does it mean that women will be preserved through child bearing? There are many opinions out there, but the one that best fits the context of the chapter is, who has the most influence over a child their first several, or even majority of the years of their lives? The mom. She is the one who has the intimate bond through breastfeeding, and she is the one (especially stay at home moms) that God called to be faithful, raising her children to know and love God from an early age. Now I am not saying this is her sole responsibility, dad helps, but while dad is at work during the day mom has a lot of time with the child to rear them to be faithful and knowledgeable of Christ.

People, definitely women of course and the whole feminist movement, get mad at and feel oppressed by people that hold this view. Lets remember, it is clear in the Bible that women have a certain role as do men, so we are merely submitting to that role and the Headship/ Lordship of Jesus Christ. I think it is a great honor women are the ones with the role they have, and couldn't imagine the blessing of being able to carry a child in the womb, breastfeed that child, and train that child to know the Lord. I thank God always that I have a wife who is a perfect example of how a women is to be before God, that she submits in this way for the sake of God, me and our kids. I love the role I have of leading the house, of helping our children know the Lord, and submitting to Christ in all things. If you think that is sexist, remember us men have a responsibility to Christ, to love our wives as Christ loved the church. How much did Christ love the church? He laid down His life for her.

Childbearing will not save a woman, for that would be works salvation (which goes completely against the scriptures) and some women are unable to have children. For the Christian woman, childbearing can preserve her in that she has a duty to Christ to raise up a generation that know and serve Him. Be well and may Gods peace and blessings be with you always.

Ephesians 5:24-25 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

Footnote: This topic goes deep with many scriptural references to prove this point. I like blogging and want to do it more often, but haven't because so much researching goes into my longer blogs. So I try to pick passages or ideas lately that I can point out in not so long blogs. I will have longer blogs here and there, but I merely share my thoughts on what I am reading and being taught. If you ever doubt or think I am wrong, be like a Berean in Acts 17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

Quick Blog on John

Whenever I read the Gospel of John I am amazed at how great it is. John, after reading his gospel seems like a sincere and kind old man, someone full of Gods love. Maybe a fellow who was soft spoken and a pacifist of sorts. Well the truth is, most of this is true, and some of it is not. John was the "beloved" disciple, in the inner circle of Jesus with Peter and James. He saw things the others didn't (such as the transfiguration and raising of synagogue officials daughter etc...). He was full of the Spirit of God in love and truth. It is this that made his old characteristic of being bold that made him not the pacifist and fragile old man we picture.

Lets look at some scripture that shows this. Mark 3:16-17 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter),and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, "Sons of Thunder")

Sons of thunder? That don't sound like a name given to someone who is "behind the scenes" nor quiet.

Remember in Luke 9:52-55 where: When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of;

Wow, these Samaritans would not receive Jesus, so James and John were ready to call down fire from heaven to consume them. That's bold, even Jesus rebuked them here. John is much more bold and "to the point" in his small epistles he wrote. (1 John, 2 John, 3 John)

1 John 2:4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in
him;

That's a straight to the point statement. If we say we Love God, yet don't keep His commands we are liars, meaning we don't truly love God. This is directly from Jesus to in:

John 14:15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

I wanted to throw in John 2:19 because it is another bold verse and I am working on another blog looking at the doctrine of perseverance of the saints which this verse fits well into.

Truth is I could go on and on, but it's getting late and I am getting tired. I encourage anyone to study the disciple John, and the others as well to see what kind of men they were and the amazing things God did through them. You won't be disappointed in a study like that. Like John Macarthur says it, they were common men with a uncommon calling.

The disciple John was an amazing man, bold for the truth and the gospel. We would do well to model a life in such a worthy manner for the glory of God. There are way to many teachers and people out there screaming tolerance, but I would urge as I saw on a bumper sticker: Truth not tolerance. Do it in a Christlike way, in love, respect, but don't be afraid to be bold. The disciples weren't and neither was Jesus. May Gods peace and blessings be with you.

Bigger families

So we are expecting our forth baby this August and we are extremely excited about it. This one we decided not to find out what we are having, unlike the other three. I am amazed at peoples responses though when I tell them we are about to have our forth child. There are alot of people who seem to think this is not a good thing, and that can be very discouraging at times, this baby was indeed planned and we have always wanted to have a bigger family. I could go on and on about how I work hard to provide for my family, but I will spare you and just say that we live happily and take no help from the government, nor do we get help from our parents financially nor even with babysitting and the like. We provide for our kids Gods way, by trusting Him in all things and raising our children to know, love, and serve him.

It's sad, that I get negative feedback that we are having another child, and that we hear such negative remarks about others to, like the Duggars. We all know God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and yes, they had to, they were the only humans in existence. We all know this verse, so I would like to draw our attention to another scripture:
Mark 6:1-3 Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him.When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him.

See that? Jesus had four brothers and it says his sisters (plural) were there in His hometown where He was teaching on this occasion. So I think it's safe to say He had at least two sisters and possibly more though we have no biblical support for it. Therefore the fact that the word sisters is plural, cannot be ignored, and that makes Jesus from a family of nine (at least) if you include Joseph, Mary and Himself. That's a good sized family. I dare ask, if our Heavenly Father thought big families were bad in any way, would He have had His son be a part of one? Just something to ponder. May peace and blessings fill you completely through His love and Grace.
Chris
Psalm 127: 3-5 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;

Who would kill Jesus today?

So imagine for a minute that Jesus came in this day and age to do what He did two thousand years ago, to die for the sins of the world. In the time Jesus did come, it was the religious leaders of the time who eventually had Him crucified. Why? Because He wasn't religious enough. Not holy enough according (not to scripture mind you) to their own man made traditions and customs of the law. He hung out with the "sinners" of the society, the unclean, the religious leaders thought of as dogs.

So say Jesus came today. Why would religion kill Him today? They would find a way to kill Him because He is too religious. They would kill Him because He is to divisive and not all inclusive like they think He should be. They would condemn Him because He condemns "good people" (according to their secular worldly standards of good).They would kill Him because He claims absolute truth, authority, and being the only way to God rather then the pluralists and universalists they want Him to be.

Just something to think about.

Be well and grow in His holiness
Chris

The Way of the Master Class

We are taking a class at church called The Way Of The Master. It is a workbook with homework and a half hour of video every week done by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (yeah the actor from the old show Growing Pains). I wanted to write a blog about what I am learning and the approach they teach to evangelism. I am half way through the 8 week class so I am sure I will learn more and am very excited about it because I have learned so much so far. If you want to check it out there are some videos on their website here: http://www.wayofthemaster.com/watchwitnessing.shtml

So would you say you're a good person? Yes? Ok. Well lets see how you hold up to God's standard. Have you kept the Ten Commandments? You say for the most part you have? Ok. Well let me ask you, have you ever told a lie? Even if it was just a small one. You have? Well if I told you a lie what would you call me? That's right, a liar. Have you ever stolen anything? Even if it was something small as a kid. You have? Well if I stole something from you what would you call me? Thats right, a thief. Ever look at someone of the other sex lustfully? Because Jesus said to look at someone with lust is to commit adultery. You have done this? Ok, well we have looked at just three of the commandments and you have admitted to me that you are a lying adultering thief. So on the day of judgement when you stand in front of God will you be innocent or guilty. You are guilty. So what will you say? Oh, that God is a forgiving God and will send you to Heaven anyway? Well that's not really fair if you think about it. Lets say you were convicted of robbing a bank and when you went to trial you said to the judge, well I am a good person and I only messed up this one time, and you seem like a forgiving judge so can I just go? Would that work? Of course it wouldn't, you broke the law and have to be punished for it, and if he is an honest, fair, and just judge you're going to be punished. Now with that being said, God is a just, fair and honest judge, so where will you go when you die being guilty of these offenses against God? The truth is, you will go to hell.

But there is good news for you. Imagine you are standing before that judge, your fine for robbing that bank is a million dollars and if you can't pay it you are going to be put in jail for a looooong time. Well you don't have anywhere near a million dollars, so you're in trouble. Well out of nowhere comes someone you don't even know that says judge, you can release this person, I am going to pay the million dollars they could never pay. Just like that you're a free man because someone paid what you could not. That is what God did for you. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay a penalty that you could never pay. He paid it with His life, and if He hadn't done this you would be sent to hell where you belong. This is not a universal salvation to all though, if you want this gift then you better repent of the sins you are guilty of, read your Bible regularly (daily) and obey all it says. I tell you this because I may not know you, but I care for you and don't want you to go to hell. You don't have to make a decision, but think about what we talked about.

That is an example of the witnessing they teach in this class, and I love it because it's to the point and biblical. It does something so many people are afraid of doing these days, and that's showing that people are sinners that are in need of a Savior. We don't teach that like we should these days, rather we try to get people to come to church and a relationship with Christ out of the notion of what Jesus can do for them. The benefits He can offer, rather then the fact that they need Him to avoid eternal separation from Him in a place of everlasting darkness and torment. I am sorry for being frank but that is what hell is, and if you don't believe in hell, well that doesn't make it nonexistent. Hell is a literal place that many people are going to according to scripture. Take a guess who talked and preached about hell more then anyone in the bible. It was Jesus. Doesn't really fit the fluffy image that so many want to give Him.

Many people wanna do the building relationship evangelism, and it does work at times, but is flawed just as many times. Let me explain, who are the hardest people to witness to? I would, as would most people, have to say family and close friends. We don't want to bring up the gospel message for fear that we may turn them off, or offend them, or push them away from us. Right? So we get to be friends with someone and get close to them, yeah we may invite them to church casually here and there or mention church every once in a while, but we have a hard time coming out of our box and presenting their need for Jesus and the salvation that only comes from Him. You guys know what I am saying. So if you witness to people on the street, they get offended by the message and leave, what have you lost? The truth is the true gospel message is offensive to many, people don't wanna admit they are sinners and sinful people in need of salvation. Pride runs rampant and humility is rare in these post-modern times.

We also wanna convince people to "come to God" because He will make their lives so much better. Kirk Cameron told a story on this that I just love. It goes like this: There was a person who was gonna take a flight and his stewardess came up to him and said to put on this parachute because it will make the flight much better. So the man does this, but shortly in the flight the parachute is poking him in the back, he is way uncomfortable, and the other passengers are pointing and laughing at him. He puts up with it for a little while but as the uncomfortable seating and ridicule gets worse he finally takes it off and puts it at his feet. That stewardess had told him that wearing that parachute would improve his flight yet it did exactly the opposite as he saw it. So another guy is getting on a flight and his stewardess tells him that he needs to wear this parachute because the engines are weak and they could crash at any time. Well the guy puts on the parachute and even though its a bit uncomfortable and some of the other passengers are mocking him quietly, he endures because he thinks at any time that plane may go down and he wants to be prepared. He doesn't mind the uncomfort or the ridicule, for he knows that parachute is his savior. We need to realize that we are going to die, and that we are either going to go to hell or we are gonna have to put on Christ and enjoy eternity with Him in paradise. It's not about putting Christ on for a better quality of life as we are so often told these days, but about putting Him on so that we may spend eternity with Him. We are gonna have discomfort, be mocked and ridiculed, and have trials in life even though we are Christians. Our pastor once said it's not a matter of if trials are gonna come, it's when are they gonna come.

I have to go now but will try to follow this up in the next few days with a few examples in the gospels of how Jesus evangelized. I hope this made sense and you got out of it what I am in taking this class. Now notice in my mock conversation above that I did not tell them they had to say this sinners prayer and all is well. I told them to think on what we talked about. We have to be the laborers, but it is God who does the work in the hearts of the people. I will address this more later, but understand that all we can do is present the good news and the Word, God is the one who works in people.

I pray we all learned something from this and am thankful for people out there like Ray and Kirk who teach practical and biblical ways to present Your message God. May we go into all the world and spread the Word of You and Your Son as You have commanded us. May we rejoice in Your Sovereign work in peoples hearts who bring them to You for Your glory. We will plant, but ask that You grow God. Let us labor in love for Christs names sake.

God's Perfect Preservation of His Word

We live in a time that is busy busy busy. Cell phones, laptops, many kids and many activities for each. Anyone agree it's easy for time to get away from us and it's real easy to forget the little things that happen to us each day. Now has anyone else had problems sleeping before because something big, momentous or even stressful happening that day? I know I sure have, laying there pondering the situation, thinking of every what could or should have been.

Every time I reflect on the life of Christ I am amazed at how perfect everything falls into place at every turn. God is amazing as are His ways, just think if Christ had come now instead of two thousand years ago. We do not keep facts straight, we forget so much and never find time to slow down and look at the big picture. Not the case in the time of Christ. He came at the perfect time of course according to prophecy, and as far as the pace of the time. Imagine being called as one of the 12 disciples, being taught in private and public by the Messiah for three and a half years, their seminary time, so to speak, in which the heard saw and did many miraculous things. Imagine laying down at night to sleep in the same place with your teacher Jesus Christ after hearing a great sermon like the sermon on the mount (Matthew chapter 5-7). Was there small talk among you, or was every one exhausted and just laying there pondering the truth and magnitude of what they heard that day from the Teacher, and realizing this is no normal Man, before they fell asleep. Imagine for a minute being one of the disciples and after hearing such great teachings...whats going through your mind? Is it the teachings? The magnitude of realizing this Teacher is the One true Son of God as he claims? Or are you a Judas Iscariot thinking about only yourself? I hope not that one.

God picked a people and time that had ready men, regular ol men too, fishermen and a tax collector, that were not wrapped up in the hustle and bustle life like so many of us do now with the technology and gadgets we have today. All the sports and other eternally useless things we fill our lives with nowadays. Not that these things are bad, don't get me wrong, I personally like being busy, but it can hinder our walks and relationship with God if we concentrate more on them and less on God. I am merely trying to point out how in the time God chose the pace and people were ready. The disciples had time to listen to God. To walk with God. To realize it was God that was teaching and to store away the facts and teachings that God gave them to deliver to the people of their day as well as us and many more. Now they did not do it alone , the word they recorded was written by their hand but God was there. He inspired their thoughts and recollections and He made sure their writings reflected exactly what He wanted it to, for it is His Word. The Bible is full of accurrate history because it is His-story. What a honor to write some parchments that end up being the inspired written word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) Thank you John. Thank you Paul. Thank you James, Peter, Jude, and most importantly, Thank you God.

I have been called a idiotic fundamentalist for this view of scripture. But if the Bible is written by just men, not God, then it's no better then any other religious book out there. If it is in error anywhere then it's not God's word and needs dismissed and thrown away. But the fact is that it is inerrant and perfect. Thank you God for a manual that teaches us how to live and gives us absolute truth in a world of doubt. Thank you for picking the right men for the job and inspiring them to write an account of your Son and early church. May we read it and live it and obey it daily in our walk with You.

Jesus is NOT your homeboy!

Wow, first I wanna say to my two readers I am sorry for being away from my blog. Kids and work and life in general makes the time just slip away. But I have still been studying God's awesome word and have much I wanna blog on if I can keep finding time. So what do you think of the title of this post? I hope it captured your attention and makes you read on wondering what the heck I mean. This will reflect a little from a sermon John Macarthur did titled "The Forgotten Side Of God" with of course my own opinions and thoughts in it as well.

First I wanna pose a question to you: Where in the Bible does it say or elude to Jesus laughing? The truth of the matter is, it doesn't. Yeah I know, that's pretty amazing. It does say in John 11:35 Jesus wept. (That by the way is the shortest verse in the Bible) But no where in scripture will you find Jesus laughing. Now I will not claim nor want to imply that Jesus never laughed, I merely want to point out that the Holy Spirit never inspired any of the new testament writers to record such an instance. I am sure Jesus laughed with His disciples and followers, but still, we couldn't get just one instance of this recorded in the Holy Scriptures? This is just something I want you to think about as I write the rest of this post.

So when we die, if we are true followers and believers in Christ, are we just gonna roll up into Heaven and high five Jesus, say something like what's up bro, or how's it kickin? I don't think so. Look at John (who happens to be the "beloved disciple" ) in Revelation 1:17-18 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Wait, the beloved disciple saw Jesus and fell like a dead man? Do you guys see your friends and homeboys and fall at their feet like you were a dead man? Of course you don't. Society loves to make shirts, hats and whatever else to make Jesus out to be this cool hip pacifist that just wants to be our homies and hang with us. We have lost sight of God's greatest attribute. He is Holy!

Remember back in Exodus where Moses is just walking along and sees a burning bush? Exodus 3:1-6 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, "I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Look at that, God told Moses to remove His sandals because he was standing on Holy ground. Why was the ground Holy? Because God was there. God is Holy. You will see that illustrated constantly throughout the entire Bible. Moses also in this incident hid his face from God. God is so Holy Moses didn't even want to look at Him in the bush.

Revelation 4:8 And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!"
Isaiah 6:2 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"

Look at these two scriptures and you will notice they are very similar. John had one vision and Isaiah had the other and they are describing the Seraphim angels that circle the throne of God constantly crying out Gods greatest attribute which as I mentioned before is Holiness. Look at Isaiah's vision description though. Notice the similarities to the Exodus passage with Moses we just looked at? The seraphim (which are "high-ranking angels") are covering their feet and faces. Like Moses, they do not want to look upon the Lord and they cover their feet, in my opinion, to show they can't even stand before the Lord. God is so Holy that these angels dare not look at Him but cover their faces, yet we have people running around saying Jesus is their homeboy? How disgraceful! It's like so many people want to make God "cool". God does not need people making Him "cool". Notice what the Seraphim are saying? What is God? Is He mercy mercy mercy? Is He cool cool cool? Is He (as so many want us to think) love love love? No, none of these. He is Holy Holy Holy! The only time God is ever described as something repetitive like this is in regards to His Holiness. The Jews used this when they wanted to make a strong point. Jesus did it in His time when He was about to make a strong statement. You will find 25 times in the book of John where Jesus starts a statement verily verily I say unto you (some versions truly truly). God is Holy above all other things.

Now there are many people out there that just concentrate on God's love. I used to. But there is so much more to God. Yes 1 John 4 says God is love. Because He is. But above all He is Holy. We really need to start pounding that into this day and age in the church. It is because of us losing sight of God's Holiness that so many churches are accepting things like homosexuality and abortion and idolatry. If you don't believe me just look around. the Episcopalians, the ELCA, the Methodist church, PCUSA, The Church of Christ. These are all churches guilty of one or more of the three I listed. All of them are going the way of idolatry. What I mean is, did you know that if you create a God that is not the one described in the Bible you are committing idolatry? Homosexuality is a sin in the bible. It is in black and white in the New testament and Old. But because these churches are trying to make God 'cool" and want the world to think the church is hip to the times they are secularizing the gospel message. I know a pastor from Ecla that when asked how they went when the Ecla split over this not long ago he said "Oh we are liberal, anything goes." Really!? Where is that in the Bible? Please note when I say liberal or conservative I am describing views on scripture and not politics unless otherwise noted. The sad thing is this guy is teaching people this liberal theology garbage which in all honesty is apostasy and idolatry. The same goes for abortion, go to RCRC and look at all the churches on this list who support abortion (I.E. the murdering of innocent babies).

God is Holy and calls us to live Holy lives. Lives that reflect Him, and as we see the Bible clearly shows He is Holy. We will stumble, that is true, but if you just want to claim Christ and no change has happened in your life I question your conversion. You wanna convert a truck into a car, you will see a change in the truck over time. Right? R.C. Sproul had a good quote that went something like this "Any attempt to understand God apart from His holiness is idolatry"

Lets look at another verse. One the "other side" tries to use as an opposition to all the holiness scriptures describing God. John 15 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. I love this passage and am so humbled that a Holy and awesome God would call me a friend. But I will not distort that and twist it to make God out to be my "homeboy". I would never disgrace my Heavenly Father and Creator. Do you? Folks, God is love, and yes, God does love all of us just as we are, however He loves us so much He won't leave us that way. 1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. That's a lot of people who won't enter the kingdom of God. But look close at that passage, it says and such were some of you. That's so promising cause God will change us from the sinful lives we live into followers of His holiness. Look within yourselves, are you worshiping and believing in the one true God, or merely one that society accepts? Read your Bibles, and obey what you read.

My prayer for us Father is that we see You for Who You truly are. That we put aside our preconceived notions of You and learn the truth about You from the Holy Scriptures written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. May we not lean on our understanding, rather lean on You and Your word. Thank you for Your word, Your love, and Your holiness. Amen

With love and prayers
Chris

Tattoos

Alright, I will be the first to admit that I have some tattoo's. But I will also admit how much I hate them and wish I would have listened to all the people in my past that told me not to do it. So what does the bible say about tattoo's? Many of us have heard the familiar verse of Leviticus 19:28 when this topic comes up.
Leviticus 19:28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD.

Well the bible couldn't be more clear could it? It says don't get them. Oh but that is not good enough for many people, what the Bible says. So we hear the arguments that this is the old law and no longer valid because we are" free in Christ". Now I will be the first to admit that we are indeed free in Christ, however many people will use the old law when it suits their view and will say we are not under it when it don't suit their view, and that leads to taking scripture out of context and not properly separating the moral law from the ceremonial law. That is the key, the difference between the moral and ceremonial law. Murder, rape, stealing, these were parts of the old law, so are we allowed to do them since we are not under law but under grace? Of course not. These are prime examples of moral law rather then ceremonial law.

Now things like dietary law (no eating pork or unclean animals), the tithe and other theocratic "taxes", and the sacrificing of animals, these are part of the old ceremonial law. Things that were for Israel in the past to keep them clean and free from idolatry and the surronding peoples in their theocratic society (they were not a democracy nor monarchy, but a theocracy). I could go more into that but I pray you understand and get the "jist" of it for I have much I want to cover.

Now the topic comes up that tattoos aren't really illmoral so won't that be void and up to the person to choose? Well lets look at that. For one the majority of the text surrounding our verse 28 has to do with things people did as witchcraft and pagan practices, and I will agree with that. So tell me, are we allowed to worship pagan practices and Wicca gods now that we are believers and followers of Christ? I would hope we would answer no to that. Why? God wants our whole hearted devotion and to love Him and Him alone with all our heart, mind and being. That right there convinces me that the practice of giving or receiving tattoos should not be a practice of true followers of Christ. Well that won't do for some, so lets look at it from another angle.

Deuteronomy 4:16-17 beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air.....

Now this passage talks about not making any carved image for yourselves as it says, thats just straight idoltary, but think about it, that is exactly what you are putting in your skin. And I will be the first to say that all these "Christian" tattoos are no different then the dragons and skulls and snakes that other non-Christians get tattooed on their bodies. Honestly, do you think Jesus would see a picture of a cross (the device that tortued and killed him none the less) tattooed on you and be like sweet ink! No, He wouldn't. Or maybe you got a small angel, or wings on your back, or his name and a verse somewhere on your body. I am sorry but that is not glorifying to God no matter how you try to twist it. Seriously, twist it all you want but what you are doing and saying is God I know you created me in your image (Genesis 1:26), but I think I know how I look best by adding this tattoo on me. I know God that my body is the living temple (1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?), but I think i will mark it up as I see fit. It seems ridiculous, to the point that if we are as Paul says the temple of God with the Spirit within us, would that not be the same as going to church and spray painting all over the walls of the church, the front of the building, the sanctuary and windows with graffiti? Its something to ponder.

Now I gotta ask, and all you skeptics that think tattoos are fine and I am making a big deal out of nothing, I ask you this: what is your true motivation for getting a tattoo? Seriously? I got them to be cool, I thought they were cool and I wanted to get one because of it. Plus they carry a certain feel and look of rebellion. Right? These are the reasons most people get them if they were to be honest with themselves. Now look at it through God's eyes, getting a tattoo to feel cool and act cool is wrong. Being cool is a form of self gratification and pride and both are sinful. Being cool and wanting to be cool is also a form of worldliness and do I really have to quote the multiple passages on worldliness and separating ourselves from the world. Here are two of them:

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (emphasis mine)
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Some people get their wives/husbands name, or their kids name, or a real common tattoo is of a relative or loved one who passed as a memorial piece. That's noble and what not, but let me ask, are you really gonna forget a person you really loved if you don't get them tattooed on your skin? Does it really bring great honor that they are permanently marked on your body? Lets be honest here. Being "cool' in the eyes of the world is not very 'cool' in Gods eyes. Let us see Him and worship Him as the Great Almighty Creator of the Universe who is Holy Holy Holy. Ever notice how that is the only attribute of God said three times in a row, Holy Holy Holy. Not mercy mercy mercy, even though He is merciful, not love love love, even though He is the God of love. Holy Holy Holy. Should we not fear and reverence Him as such?

I write this blog topic not to degrade or make fun of anyone, merely I want to address an issue that seems to be overlooked nowadays in the "Christian circle". Liberal theology (apostasy) is running rampant more then ever and will continue to attack the absolute truth and inerrancy of scripture. The battle is fought by little issues like this and others such as declassifying homosexuality and abortion as sin, claiming science and evolution over Creation by God in seven days, claiming there is no devil nor hell, and many others. The Bible is clear on all these, we just want our ears itched (2 Timothy 4:3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,) so we will throw out what we don't like and keep what we do. Be alert and on guard against this, for we indeed are in the down grade controversy that Spurgeon talked about in his time.


My prayer is that we show the love of Christ to the world through the Spirit, love and truth. That we never compromise Biblical truth and we never stop loving the people God puts in our lives. That we put aside the practices and 'coolness' of the world to show people there is a higher calling that our awesome Creator calls us to. With love and prayers always.
Chris

Who wrote the Bible?

I have been going to a new church, a bit bigger then our old one. I visit our old one every now and then because I miss the people and place. It's a good little church, I am just concerned as to the fact that the main Methodist congregation is leaning more and more towards liberal theology which in my opinion is not biblical Christianity. I also would like a church that digs into deep theology and doctrine. The new church we have been visiting is much bigger (I personally prefer the smaller churches) but they seem to stick with sound doctrine and don't waver as to what the world thinks Christianity should be but rather what the Bible says Christianity should be. I admire that for Paul told Titus in his letter to him that: "But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine" [Titus 2:1]


So I took the girls to the old Methodist church this past weekend to visit and to attend services and Sunday school. I even called someone ahead of time in my old Sunday school class to see what they were doing, and found they were in chapter 4 of a book titled "When bad things happen to good people". I went and bought the book at used bookstore downtown and caught up reading it. Quick review on the book: It is written by a Rabbi (who only believes in the old testament) who portrays God as not all powerful and is just a horrible book when run through scripture. What I mean is it does not hold up to what scripture says, which is how I judge all things written on God and theology, like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

There were just a handful of us in the class and I mentioned that this book was crap. I said it does not stand up to Gods word. Well that got (we will call him Thomas) fired up for some reason. I was so flabbergasted by the end of that hour that I forget how it all began exactly, but the next thing I know I am in a debate about the Bible actually being a true historical book written by God. OK, it's coming back to me, I mentioned that this book makes out Job as not actual story but merely poetry, and that the parting of the Red Sea was a story as well as most the miracles of the Old Testament. Praying for rain and it comes, the sun standing still for battle, etc... The biggest was what so many modern age Christians are doing, saying that God did not create everything in 7 days, rather it took millions of years for us to evolve to what we are.

Evolution? Really? Are we at church or the local scientists meeting? Well I am a big mouth and will not stay silent. Don't get me wrong, I was proper, respectful and polite, yet not compromising my beliefs or stance on things. I made my points like, if we don't take the bible serious or as truth from the beginning of the book, where do we start? Is it our job to pick and choose what God inspired?, because if so that's scary considering we are all sinful and far from perfect. Lets say that we aren't gonna believe that God created the earths in 7 days, but that it took millions of years, so what do we make of Jesus being in the grave 3 days? Was it 3? Or 10? Did He even rise from the grave? See what I mean? You can't pick and choose. You either believe the bible or you don't. If you don't, why are you even getting up to come to church when you can sit at home, sleep in and read the Koran, or Tibetan book of dead or whatever? I'm just saying.

Let me share my view, and forgive me if I am blunt. I believe the bible was written by God, Yes though it was penned by mans hand God is responsible for every word on the page. It is not Peter or Paul , or Johns thoughts or insights about God, it is Gods perfect word to us. Since then it is Gods perfect word, that means it is inerrant and it is completely sufficient in all ways. It convicts, it converts, and it sanctifies through its words and the Holy Spirit. God wrote a book to people to reveal Himself and His will to us, and it is the Holy bible. It is complete too. The canon has been revealed and God speaks through it. There are no apostles and prophets today, Gods word is complete, He didn't forget anything and has nothing more to reveal to us, we have His glorious truth that will be with us until Christ returns and after since His word endures forever. [Isaiah 40:8]

I shared my view at the table Sunday with Thomas and he actually told me something along the lines that I was a fundamental idiot. Wow. He said that at this day in age and at his age (hes probably in his 50s or 60s) that he is surprised that he has to still "deal" with fundamentalist people like me. What do you say to that? I was so jaw on the floor. Well R was in the class with me to and he said he worries about the fact that I take scripture to seriously that I may loose faith one day because of something like evolution or I pray for something and it isn't answered. What kind of faith is that? That is not true faith when a person "falls away" considering what God says about His saving power in Romans Chapter 8 [please read it.]

It turns out that most people in that class don't agree with me, and Thomas' wife asked does it matter if it was 7 days or 7 million years? Well like I said, that's the beginning of book, you don't start believing there, then when? Does it matter if the Red sea parted to make a way for the Israelites? Well if it didn't happen, then why are there so many psalms and references to God in the Old testament as the true saving God. How can He be a Savior in the Old Testament if He didn't save His people from anything? What do we believe? If there was no angel that passed over the houses with lamb blood above the door, whats that say about our one and true perfect passover lamb Jesus Christ? When will we be arguing over whether Christ really lived and was slain for the sins of His children? It's a legitimate question.

I am not saying I have all the answers, but I will tell you that there are particulars and principles in the Christian faith. We can agree to disagree on the particulars, but we cannot bend on the principles. I truly believe scripture supports itself as the true word of God, therefore to look at it as anything else is to have the wrong view of God. Jesus was constantly saying believe in me and people profess that by the millions, but I ask, do you believe Him? We don't know God if we don't know His word. Proverbs 111:10 says "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. How would we know His precepts and laws if we didn't have His word? If we don't believe His word is His word?

Its late and I am getting tired. I could go on and on with this, but let me end with just this thought and just one verse that really touches on this subject. If you don't believe God wrote the bible and that it is complete, sufficient, and mankind's only source of absolute truth, than I strongly ask you to do as Paul told the Corinthians [2 Corinthians 13:5] and examine yourself to see that you are in the faith. How you view the bible is ultimately how you view God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

My prayer is that we teach all people the completeness and perfection of Gods holy words to us. That we read them often, meditate on them often, and obey them always. That we do what is pleasing in His eyes through that perfect word we are given. We love you and your revelation to us O Father.

With love and prayers always

Chris

What's so wrong with gambling?

Wouldn't it be nice at times if the Bible would speak straight forward with thou shall or thou shall not on certain issues? Just add a whole new list of commands in Exodus or even at the sermon on the mount in Matthew of thou shalt not gamble, thou shalt not do drugs, thou shalt not get abortions. It sure would make it easier for laymen like me if this were the case. Don't fret though, for that's the beauty of the Bible. It does say all these things, not so bluntly but with careful examination of God's Holy Word we see all that He actually does say on these topics.

Lets look at why gambling is indeed wrong, and it is wrong for so many reasons, I ask you to bear with me for this post may be long. The driving motivation behind gambling is greed. People want the big payout. You don't play the lottery for fun, you play to win the millions. The Bible is extremely clear on the issue of greed and covetousness which is another motivation behind gambling. So is materialism. I will put the extensive list of sins that motivate gambling or a result of gambling at the end of this post, so that now we can examine a little of the history of gambling.

The history of gambling in America is interesting. The American Revolution was funded by the sale of lottery tickets. The lottery was also used by Washington to build federal city, Washington actually bought the first ticket for that project, and we now know federal city as Washington D.C. Many colleges and churches in those times used gambling to build their building, for it was an easy way to raise funds for such projects. However the church started coming to their senses apparently, because they started speaking out against the unbiblical act of gambling, and in 1894 all forms of gambling were outlawed. The state lottery was again enacted in the state of New Hampshire in 1964, and since then it has spread like wildfire to other states and areas such as casinos, dog/horse tracks and more. Saint Augustine said that gambling was invented by the devil. Martin Luther said that money that was won from gambling was won out of self seeking sin. John Calvin outlawed gambling in all of Geneva.

There are studies that show 500 billion dollars a year are wagered legally. That's 500 billion just legally, taking the amount I'm sure much higher if we could tally all the illegal gambling dollars wagered. Just to put that in perspective, that is more then we spend on dentists, or sporting events, or foreign travel, or household appliances, or even health care a year. This is a huge problem, all driven by greed. Studies also indicate that there are approx 10 million compulsive gamblers in America. I think that's more then admitted alcoholics. Twenty percent of compulsive gamblers have admitted to thoughts or even attempts at suicide. The suicide rate of spouses of gambling addicts is 150 percent higher then the national average.

Atlantic City instituted gambling and casinos in 1976 to help revitalize their economy, unemployment and tax revenue. We always hear about the great tax revenue and jobs casinos bring. Now in Atlantic city, the crime rate has risen 380 percent, the police force has been doubled, even though the cities population is down 20 percent. Half of the 2100 small businesses closed, and unemployment is up. The best is, four of their last six mayors have been indicted for corruption, 3 of which are incarcerated. I could give more statistics but that would be moot, I just wanted to make the point that casinos and gambling bring a lot more with them then they promise, and that which they do promise is a lie in the end.

A big sin a person commits by gambling is discontentment. Phillipians 4:11-12 ¹¹Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹²I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
Paul knew what it was like to have and to need, and either way he was content with what God gave him. Gambling is in a sense saying I need more. What You have provided is not enough. Discontentment is a lack of faith, and it is a sin.

Proverbs 30:7-9
Two things I asked of You,
Do not refuse me before I die:
⁸Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,
⁹That I not be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?"
Or that I not be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

This is such a remarkable verse. Be happy that you have enough. I know the American dream is the big house with a picket fence in a suburb with new cars. The American dream revolves around greed, so it shouldn't surprise us that the lottery and casinos do so well. The lust and materialism and greed drives us to get that American dream and all the things to "keep up with the Jones". This verse should teach us to be happy, be happy we have enough. Be happy you have a roof over head, no matter where you live. Be happy you have an automobile, no matter if it's a "beater". Be happy you have food in your belly. Many people don't have the luxury of saying those things. Here the Bible pleads for God to provide, not abundant riches, and not extreme poverty. You may not have abundant riches, but if you're on your computer right now reading this, then you also are not living in extreme poverty.

I will not post the entire parable of the talents, for it would make this post even longer, but I do ask you get your Bible out now and read it. It's found in Matthew 25 starting at verse 14 and going clear to 30. Many of us may already be familiar with these words of our Lord. I want you to look at verse 30: "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

This slave was a bad steward of what he was given. He did not lose his masters money, not a bad steward in that way, but he was a lazy steward. He was irresponsible with what he was given. That is exactly what gambling is! This is also a sin, and look at what Jesus said to do to the person. Outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth are always used in reference to hell. I am not saying if you gamble as a Christian you will go to hell, we all are and can be forgiven, but I am saying it is a sin. How does God look at sin? Well, you, me, our kids, and every other human, will die because two people ate fruit they weren't supposed to. It wasn't even the act, but the rebellion against God. That's what sin is, rebellion against God. Gambling is rebellion against
God.

Lets look at sins that motivate and sins that result from gambling:
1)Greed and materialism
2)Covetousness and lusts to have more and more
3)Laziness it undermines Gods standard of working by "trying to get rich quick"
4)Discontentment not happy with what you do have
5)Bad stewardship with what you are given
6)Distrusting God and His providence
7)Irresponsible family leadership it is true men
8)Stealing in order for you to win big someone lost big. So even if you do have a good day you are taking from someone who did not, and most gamblers are the poor
9)Not keeping the great command of loving your neighbor look at 8

I actually think I could keep going and going. Gambling exploits the weak, the poor, the undisciplined, and the gullible. It is the greatest example of taking money from the pockets of a lot of the poor and putting it in the pockets of a few rich. If you have extra money, and you claim Christ, don't gamble with it. It would be much better off to directly give it to someone in need. Or church, or a charity that helps people. Not the casinos. I did this blog because of issue 3 that passed here in Ohio (unfortunately). I was thinking, what is so wrong with gambling, so I listened to a few sermons on it, read my Bible and researched some statistics and was amazed at how much I learned and what a huge problem this is. The true church is busy defending the Bible against homosexuality and abortion, and have let this issue slip through the cracks. I say if you know Christ and have the hope within you, step up and defend God's Word and character when people push these immoral sins upon us. This is one of those sins that is not "good if done in moderation" like so many say. It's a sin, no sin is good in moderation. As far as helping school's and tax revenue, that still does not make it right, but even more wrong. That's just feeding the bigger chain of greed and discontentment. Plus the ends do not justify the means. This has gotten extremely long, and I will put another post about it soon on other parts I wanted to point out.

My prayer is that we learn the higher calling the Lord calls us to as His children. That we live holy lives because He is Holy. That we study His word and learn what is right and wrong according to His standards, which as His children are the only standards that matter. Let us also, with gentleness and love, help those who have fallen into the temptation and addiction of this sin, that they may know Him and be changed from within as we have been. With love and prayers always
Chris

Where two or three gather

We are all familiar with the saying of where two or three gather in my name I am there. I love this verse, however I am sad how so many people take the bible out of context and make verses mean what there original purpose was not.

Matthew 18:15-20"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother."But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED."If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven."For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

What is this passage talking about? It is talking about a brother who is sinning and confronting him on his behavior. The capitalized verse up there is a quote directly from Deuteronomy 19:15, which Jesus uses to show the law of the OT is the same as His message. Should be, they were written by the same author. When one won't repent of there sin you are to go to him with two or three witnesses so that it is not just one mans word against another, rather you have more then one brother to confirm the testimony of the wrong doing. Am I being clear, my mind keeps wandering and I am struggling to find the right words. Look at it like this, I see a fellow believer from church who is married sneaking around and cheating on his wife. I will go go to him and tell him what he is doing is wrong, Christians are not to act like that and Gods holy word backs that up. Well he shrugs me off, don't care and keeps going along with his extramarital activity, then I will take two fellow brothers from church to tell this guy that this is against Gods word and that he must stop. Then as Jesus explains in other places, you would take the matter to the church if the fellow believer does not repent (stop/turn away from) from his immoral activities.

This is what this passage alludes to, church discipline. I love how Jesus said that when we gather in His name for this matter that He is within our mist. That's a comforting thought because seriously, who wants to do this. Right? It is told that we should and I understand why, we have to keep the body of Christ pure and holy. I know we are all sinners, unredeemed flesh, but we cannot claim Christ and not be obedient to His commands. That is illustrated best in Jesus and the relationship with His father, He loved the Father and was obedient, even unto death on a cross.

So should we be obedient? If Christ, The Son of God did, we most definitely should. That is the gospel message, repent and believe. Repent from what? The sins in our lives. The darkness in us that brings dishonor to God rather than glory. We all know we have a dark side in us. It's our nature, we are born sinners. But with faith in Christ and obedience to His word we can overcome those dark areas of our sinful nature. I'm not saying perfection here, we will not obtain that until Christ glorifies us, but that is no excuse to live like our sinful nature desires.

Now lets get back to the topic and scripture I was talking about before I sidestepped a little. People use the verse where two or three gather in my name I am there in there midst way out of context a lot. We see through the scripture itself that it talks of confronting a sinning person and that when we go to confront that brother that God is with us. OK. But a lot of people quote this just when two or three believers come together for prayer or bible study that God is there within their midst. Well this verse is not referring to that. However I do got good news to the people who quote this verse in that way, God is always within our midst if we are true followers and believers in Him. Number one He is Sovereign, so He sees and knows all. So he is near everyone in that sense, but also He has sent His spirit to dwell in the hearts of His faithful followers. So in that sense He is not within our midst, rather He is within us! How glorious a truth is that? When I pray to God, I believe He hears my prayers and is with me as I pray them. And that is not when I'm with people, but alone. I feel God listening and "within my midst" when I am pouring out my heart and praying to Him. I use the word feel hesitantly, for Christianity is not about all feelings, but about learning Gods word and drawing closer to Him through knowing Him by His words. God wrote one book, The bible, and He wrote down everything He wanted to tell His people in it. It is absolute truth and inerrant. It was relevant then just as much so as it is relevant today, for it is the perfect words of God. You want to know God? Read His word, and read it often.

I did not write this blog to mock or make fun of anyone who may use or have used that verse in the way that may take it out of context to the passage. I merely write to share with others the truth that I learn from Gods word. I want all of us to know what God says through the bible and how it impacts our lives. May we grow ever closer to Him through His awesome truths for us. My prayer is for all of us to read His word, read it often, and dig deep into what that word is telling us. I hope we all see and know that God is within us rather just within our midst. He is our shield, our strength, our God. For the more of the Word we know, the more of God we know.

With love and prayers always
Chris

To long FB status update

Look anywhere in scripture and you will find the Son. He was the ark that carried Noah and family to safety. He is the bronze serpent looked at for healing. He was the manna from heaven that nourishes. He was the staff that brought water from the rock to quench thirsts. He was the ram that was caught in the thorns to sacrifice instead of Isaac. He was the path on the floor of the red sea that lead to safety. He was the the extra person in the fiery furnace saving his faithful servants. He is the one who hung on a cross to forgive mine and your sins if you know Him. That's my God! That's my protector! That's my shield! And even if I am cast into the pits or the furnace, He is with me! Do you know Him readers? Or do you just simply know of Him? There is a difference. Call on Him. Lean on Him. Love Him.


May God bless you all.
Chris

Knowing

A minister I really enjoy has opened up all his sermons for free on his website, and I like to download them and listen to them at work. Well he mostly does in depth studies of the entire bible, and every once in a while he will tell of a story, sometimes they are true, sometimes they are just made to get you thinking. I would like to share one such story with you, which I know is different for what I usually do here, but I feel this has some relevance. This is not exactly how it was told word for word, for I am just going off of memory of when I heard it about a week ago.

There was a old retired preacher back in the day, that had a good friend who was "out of his league" so to speak in the social sense. One day his friend invited the preacher to a dinner party he was having that was quite an affair. Reluctantly the preacher decided to go. When he got there he was seated beside a very well known actor. The friend ask the actor to do them all a favor and recite something beautiful for them. The actor asked what they would like him to do and the preacher asked him if he knew the 23rd psalm. The actor said that as a matter of fact he did know that psalm. So the actor agreed under one condition, that the ol retired preacher recite it after him. The preacher agreed and the actor went on to recite the psalm in such a beautiful and dramatic way that the crowd at the dinner just applauded his performance of it when he was finished. The room fell quiet and the old preacher got up with his cracking and squeaky voice and humbly recited the 23rd psalm. When he was done there was not one dry eye in the house. The friend was struck, got up and said I think I get it, I get the difference in the reactions. For the actor knows the psalm but my friend here, he knows the Shepard.

I ask you, do you know the psalm that most do, or is it deeper for you? Do you know the Shepard? May He manifest His glory and light into all of your lives today, tomorrow, and for eternity. With love and prayers always.
Chris

The Fall Of Man

Genesis 3:1-6 "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?" The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die." The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from it's fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate."

This is the verse in theology that describes the fall of man. It is in this chapter that the devil pulls out his craftiness and turns the whole order of things upside down. Now this is not to say that God made it happen, just that he allowed it to happen for it would fulfill His will and mankind's future.

We all know this story from our youth, but let's really look deeper into all the lessons contained in this chapter. First thing we notice is that the devil comes as a serpent, a talking snake. It's funny how the devil never comes as he truly is, instead always disguised as something else. Whether it be a false prophet, false religion, a loved one appearing to you in an occult seance, or in this case a snake. I do find it ironic that a serpent is a very close description of himself considering how the devil is crafty and slithers around the world in search of things to devour. So beware, for the devil can come at you in so many ways, forms, shapes and symbols. The devil and his minions love to present themselves as good and pure. The devil isn't going to get his work done parading around telling everyone to come to a bottomless, painful, wretched burning place with him. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:14, 15 No wonder, for even satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, who's end will be according to his deeds."

The next thing to notice is that the devil comes to Eve and addresses her. Where's Adam? What's he doing that the devil comes to the woman? We are not given this info in the text, just that Eve took, ate and gave some to Adam to eat after the serpent deceived her into believing she surely would not die and actually would become like God. One could almost come to believe that Adam was beside her the whole time while the snake was conversing with her and if this is true, why didn't he speak up?

The main point of this blog is to look at how the devil/snake talked her into eating of the fruit. The first thing out of his mouth (verse 1) is said in a way to bring about doubt or distrust. I can almost hear the manipulating tone, "did God reeeeeally say you could not eat of any tree of the garden?" Just how he asks it makes one think that God is this big unfair entity with so many rules, when in reality it's one rule. Don't eat from that one tree. Enjoy this vast garden and all it's riches just don't eat from the one tree.

Look at Eve's response. She states the fact that they can eat of all the trees of the garden except for the one in the middle. But she goes on to say that of the one in the middle, God said do not eat from it or touch it or you will die. Now if you look back at the giving of this command by God in chapter 2 verse 17, you will see that two things stand out. Number 1 is that Eve was not even created at the time of this command. So I'm sure Adam passed it on to her. The second point is that God says not to eat from it, but he never says anything about touching it like she told the serpent. So either Adam told her not to touch it for her protection or she is lying to the devil going along with the doubt and "restrictive character" that the devil is trying to paint in her mind of God. It's something to ponder because this is the only time "not touch it" is mentioned.

Now look at the devil's response. He tells her she most surely will not die. But instead will become like God, knowing good and evil. So Eve saw that it looked good and was desirable to make one wise and ate of it. And gave some to Adam who listening to the woman rather than God's command, ate it. And it should be noted, Adam wasn't tricked or manipulated like Eve. This is the fall of man. The first sin against the only command God gave them, and they couldn't follow it. In the next few verses God comes calling them to find out they have not obeyed his one command. Look what Adam says in verse 12 "The woman who you gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree and I ate." This is just like modern day. He blames her and God! God gave him the gift of a partner and he's blaming God! And Eve was deceived, tricked, manipulated! And even though that's no excuse to break a command of God it's better than just eating when Eve gave him the fruit! Adam is doing exactly what so many of us still do to this day, start playing the blame game. Well I did this because...... Or I didn't stop this for..... Or blah blah blah... It's funny and sad that in the beginning with the first humans Adam didn't take responsibility for his actions like so many of us still don't. This is a big lesson I hope to get across in this post.

However, this is yet another just as important lesson to learn from this story in God's word. The devil told them they would not die. In reality they ate the fruit and they didn't die...right then. Instead they died spiritually in the aspect of being separated from their one on one interaction in the presence of God. Death in the physical sense would come, just not instantly right then. The greatest thing the devil did here and what we need to constantly be on the guard against is he put doubt into Eve's mind about God's word. That goes on so much these days. Just look around. Even religious groups and organizations now a days are stating there is no absolute truth. Well if that's the case, what's the Bible? I always thought it was God's absolute word and truth. Right? Yet so many evangelical Christians will argue with me on that fact.

Sorry this blog got so long. I just wanted to make the few points clearly so we might better understand God's word and how it's truth is so relevant even today. Remember beware for the enemy will come in many forms. Definitely as an angel of light. Never let anyone teach you anything that goes against the word of God. And please, let's take responsibility for our actions when we do sin, making no excuses, rather confessing and repenting to God as the gospel message teaches.

My prayer is that we keep our eyes and ears on the Spirit, that we may discern when trials and temptations from the devil arise. That we take a stand against anyone and everyone who denies Gods word and or character. That we follow Gods law cheerfully and without burden to bring Him the glory and praise that He desires and Deserves.

With love and prayers always

Chris