A Declaration of War

Ignoring the Cry from Hell

2009-10-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

All too often the cry from hell is completely and totally ignored by those who should really know better. Unfortunately, apathy has gripped the Church to the point that professing evangelical Christians are anything but evangelical. The good news that should be being preached among the world has instead been kept from the world, leaving the world to be plundered and pillaged by the unmerciful wolves of the cults. I am extremely saddened that the men who do actually take Christ’s commission to go forth throughout the nations seriously, are the very ones who believe and fervently spread the heresies of the false religions. How convicting this should be to us who hold fast to the truth of God’s Word, that we of all people, who have been made alive by the Almighty, awoken from our spiritual deadness by hearing His glorious Word, are the very ones who do not go forth ourselves and share such eternally important truths. Instead of being fishers of men, who actively get in their boats and purposefully cast the nets in hopes of catching those whom Christ preordained, we sit. We quietly go about our business instead of that of the Fathers, waiting for lost souls to ask us questions. Why is it that we no longer have a heart for the lost? Shouldn’t we, of all people, who have been born again by the imperishable Word of God understand and know the importance of preaching to those who are perishing so that the Holy Spirit may convict them and bring them about to repentance and a saving faith?

Luke 16:19-31
“Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us. And he said, ‘Then I beg you, Father, that you send him to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”

The cry from hell that I want you all to see, is the cry from hell that is all too often ignored by those who would call themselves Evangelicals…Send...Send, lest they also come to this place of torment. If we truly have a heart for the lost, then how could we so callously ignore this cry? How on earth could we justify turning a deaf ear to the multitudes of voices crying up from the very depths of hell itself to send someone…to send anyone out whose feet are beautifully shod with the Gospel of Peace, lest one more poor soul should enter into that place of torment. O’ how I have heard the arguments…or should I say…excuses. Some would say that the Great Commission literally says, “in your goings” rather than the way it is rendered in our Bibles saying, “Go forth”. I am not here to debate words, how could I? I am not a Greek scholar. Instead, I ask you to look at the example laid forth not only by our Lord, but by His Apostles and disciples. Did they sit idle, waiting for someone to approach them, waiting for some direct question, waiting for an “open door”, or did they just go? Just incase you don’t know the answer, they went forth. So I ask you who are not going forth, aren’t we supposed to be following Paul’s example as he follows Christ? But, some would object, God has preordained good works that we may walk into them. Although this is true, does that somehow negate following Christ and the Apostles example of going forth? Shouldn’t that instead give us all the more confidence as we go forth? Shouldn’t that instead provide us with boldness in proclaiming the offensive Word of God to the lost world? As anyone who has read this blog should know, I completely believe in the absolute sovereignty of God in calling and drawing sinners to Himself, but this in no way stopped Christ, the Apostles, me or should it stop you from going forth as a light in this dark world and proclaiming Christ and Him crucified to the very ones who need to hear it.

Matthew 9:27-31
“As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘It shall be done to you according to your faith.’ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: ‘See that no one knows about this!’ But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.”

I want to direct your attention to the fact that Jesus miraculously healed them, then told them not to tell anyone about it, yet what did these men do? They told the news about Him throughout all the land. I don’t, not even for a split second, think that these men were blatantly defying Jesus, but what I do think is that they were so overwhelmed with the excellence and gloriousness of Christ, that they couldn’t help themselves but to go around and tell everyone throughout the land the good news about Him. Now, take a long look in the mirror…why is it, that you who have also experienced the miraculous healing power of Jesus, in which He brought you from death to eternal life, can go day by day, month by month keeping your mouth shut? How is it that God could do such an awesome and marvelous work as separating your sin from you as far as the east is from the west, and remembering it no more, and promising that He will do that for anyone who repents and believes, and yet we sit. We argue with others about whether we should go forth or not. Wouldn’t you say that is terribly shortsighted? Wouldn’t you say that by doing so we are acting quite peculiar and drastically different from every single person who was touched by the miraculous hand of Christ…because every single one of them went forth! They couldn’t help themselves! So what in the world is wrong with us?

If you have received the truth, and if you have been resurrected from your deadness to everlasting life, and if you have had all your iniquities and transgressions washed white as snow, and if you have loved ones, whether family or friends who remain in unbelief… how, with a clean conscience, can you honestly sit idle and not actively go forth proclaiming and preaching the Word of Christ by which men are saved. I beg you, just as those in hell beg you…Go! Lest one more soul should enter that place of torment.

Lastly, if you are still sitting there with your arms crossed thinking, “it says, ‘in your goings’”, know this, not every single Scholar is in agreement with that rendering, nor totally convinced of that interpretation. John MacArthur says it means, “having gone”…so according to him, going forth is just expected…and why wouldn’t the Almighty expect it from us, I mean, we have the audacity to go forth and tell people where to find a good mechanic, or a good deal on milk, or whatever mundane pointless and arbitrary good thing we may come across, yet we have the nerve to sit on the Gospel until someone approaches us? We really do go out of our way to inform others of all sorts of temporal things, so how is it that we neglect sharing with them the eternal good news of Christ? I beg you, think about it, repent, and go forth.

Reading, Writing & Arithmetic

2009-04-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the utter lack of posts lately, unfortunately I am still without a computer. I was hoping that after having started my new job, my family would be back on our feet and able to purchase a fancy new laptop so that I could get crackin' on some new blogs, but alas, the bills have piled up substantially high, and it seems as if it will be quite some time before my dreams of a Mac actually sitting on my lap, as to aid me in writing countless, new, and intriguing blogs is still yet far off. Today, my new job has me sitting at a bank as to answer questions about a new ATM that has been installed, since questions have been few and far between, and considering that the bank provided me with a computer to surf the net in my downtown, I figured I would take this opportunity to throw out a quick post...maybe two if I have time.

I often quote 1 Timothy 4:13, to point out the paramount importance of focusing on the Word of God during the gathering of the assembly, because, as I have said countless times, it is by the Word that we grow in wisdom and knowledge pertaining to salvation. It alone is the God ordained instrument by which He calls those whom He has elected to repentance leading to true faith, and it is by His Word alone which He molds, shapes and transforms us into the image of the glorious Christ. Hence, its importance...right?

Well recently I have been contemplating this verse further, and from another perspective. It says, "Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching." (ESV) This verse clearly displays to us that the public reading of Scripture is extremely important to the Almighty. So during my contemplation, I attempted to rack my brain for other instances and in what things the Lord commands us to devote ourselves. Two things quickly popped into my pea brain. One being prayer, and the second, the singing of hymns...

Embarrassingly, it is not an uncommon occurrence to be at a Bible study and upon someone volunteering to read a particular portion of Scripture, the reader drearily, tediously, and dully crawls through the passage.

Now, when God says we are to be devoted to the public reading of Scripture, do you think He merely means that we are to make sure it is common practice, or rather, that not only should it be common practice, but the reader should put as much heart into it as we do our prayers, and our singing of hymns. I would hope that when hymns are being sung by Christ's redeemed, that they are sung with passion, zeal, and with a loud uplifted voice, which is exactly how the Scriptures should be read. However, sadly enough, on numerous occasions I have heard Pastors exhorting the congregation on their lack of joy and fervor during the singing of hymns. The people slouch, shuffle their feet, and barely open their mouths enough for even a murmur to proceed from their lips, as if they are high school students being asked to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance.

Seriously, is this how we honor and glorify our Creator and Redeemer? With a half heart and with an utter lack of enthusiasm? Just as we should be lifting our voice to honor God in hymn, we too should be honoring Him through the public reading of Scripture. If you volunteer to read believer, please...please...please read the Holy Scriptures as if you have actually read them before, and as if you are familiar with them...because shouldn't you have? and shouldn't you be? Please put some actual feeling and emotion into the reading of God's written Word. How someone can sound like Ben Stein in Ferris Buellers Day Off as they read of the Atonement, or of the Resurrection, or of fulfilled prophecy astounds me. Does the deep love of God which Paul describes as unfathomable really mean nothing to you? I would hope not, so why do you read it as if that is the case?

Lastly, I do want to say, if you are not a strong public reader, take the time to read the Scriptures that will be studied prior to the actual study, read them over and over out loud by yourself, so as to become acquainted with them. I mean, really, this should be done regardless, but for the sake of showing the Lord some respect and giving Him His due honor, we all should take more care in how we read His inerrant Word in public, or if you don't want to do that, maybe it would be best that you just don't volunteer to read.

Update

2009-03-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of posts recently, however as I mentioned before, my computer is dead. My sister graciously let me borrow one, however that too broke. So, I quickly wanted to thank you all for your prayers, and let you know they have been answered. God has kindly given me a great new job, and hopefully I will purchase another computer and start blogging again very soon, until then keep fighting the good fight of faith and cling to the solid rock of Christ at all times and in all things.

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other...

2009-02-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

am not sure if any of you, that read this blog, remember the Sesame Street song which taught kids to recognize things which are similar and to pick out the things which are not. But it recently came to my attention since I have been out of work, I have watched Sesame Street every morning with my son as we eat our breakfast, and it got me thinking. Recent polls show that 80% of Americans say they are Christian, even cults like the JW's, and Mormons also claim that title. The problem is that JW's, Mormons, and I would dare say most of the 80% that claim the Christian title, are not really followers of Christ.

In my life, before Christ, I was a Skinhead, and my friends and I took that pretty seriously. We didn't tolerate others who claimed that title within our city and didn't live up to the standard we had set. Needless to say, it usually didn't bode too well for those poor misguided souls who we deemed as "wanna-be's" and "fakes."

Sadly, on the Day of Judgment, Jesus will cast many out of His presence who claim to be His followers, and yet are found to be lawless. They are the ones who call upon the LORD, but do not do what He says, and fail to pay heed to His commands, which means they are fake Christians.

Some of my old friends were in a band, and they did a couple U.S. tours, and as they traveled the country, they saw how the Skinhead scene varied depending on the city or state. There wasn't consistency or uniformity within the movement whatsoever. However, within Christ's Church there is perfect unity, because a perfect God is not only the author of our faith but also the head of His Church.

Ephesians 4:1-6

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

As the Church, we are to be one. This is clearly displayed throughout the book of Acts, as the Holy Spirit is building the Church, Scripture continually says that 'they had all things in common', that 'they were of one mind and of one heart'. Not only should we believe the same truths, but we should be living the same holy life, by walking in a manner worthy of our calling. This truth is paramount to the Church, and that is exactly why Peter started his second epistle with that very idea. Second Peter warns believers not only about the coming of false teachers but also about the doctrines which they would be attacking. The body of doctrine found within the Scriptures that comprises our set of beliefs are attacked individually and corporately. There are people who go around with a grab bag assortment of beliefs, espousing to be Christians, and also Churches who deny the authoritative Word of God by failing to proclaim it or by teaching things contrary to it. However, this is not at all the true faith. There must be unity in our faith since we are baptized into one Lord, are given one Spirit, so our unity is found in Christ and in His Word which neither contradicts nor is unclear.

2 Peter 1:1

Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

Peter points out that we received this faith, so our believing is not by our doing. So we have unity in that we all came to Christ in the same way, by His drawing us to Himself. Considering we received this faith, we can rest assured that God Himself is handing this faith out to us so we can know it's a simular faith because He is not a God of confusion. Since there is unity and commonality in the faith, we should believe the same exact things, such as the divine nature of Jesus, and the absolute sovereignty of God. It's all right there in 2 Peter 1:1.

So...when a professing Christian is super excited about how she got pregnant and she is giving glory to "The Secret," saying that she became pregnant because of her daily affirmations in the mirror...is that the same kind of faith that was given to us by God, when the Bible clearly says that it is YHWH who opens and closes the womb? He alone is to be praised for a birth! See what I am getting at?

This is the precise reason I get so upset when someone comes to me who is going to an ungodly Church, which is in rebellion toward God's Word, by not only having a woman pastor, but by neglecting the teaching of the Word of God, and that person says to me..."my faith is stronger than ever." That's nonsense. It is an impossibility. Because faith is a gift from God, and God would not strengthen that gift when you are rebelling against Him by uniting yourself to a group of individuals who collectively agree in the usurping of Christ's authority and headship by defying His Word and commands. Plain and simple right?

I know that I always start blog series and rarely finish them, but hopefully I will get around to finishing this one--it has been on my mind for some time. I would like to go over the various aspects of the faith which are foundational and necessary--if it is REAL and GENUINE faith.

Not Sweatin' the Small Stuff

2009-02-11T22:10:00.000-08:00

am still in the midst of having technical difficulties, with no hope whatsoever of my computer making any sort of miraculous recovery. It is as dead as a computer could be. So...I am currently at my In-laws house, which is why this blog will be pretty short.

bank that I worked for failed. We were seized by the FDIC, and told we would have to be interviewing with another larger bank, who was obtaining us from the FDIC, to keep our jobs. However, out of the 103 employees, only 40 have a chance of remaining...at best. With the world in economic crisis, and jobs being cut around the country everyday, this type of thing is what stresses people out. I would even think that some of my colleagues may have toyed with the idea of suicide, having lost not only their jobs, but gobs of money in stocks they held within the bank, not to mention those who had retirements based wholly upon the bank's shares lost it all...everything that was tied into the bank is now worthless.

As everyone scrambled to make a good impression in hopes of keeping their jobs, under the ever so watchful eye of the larger banks management, I noticed a few things. Underneath the shallow exterior of fake smiles and seemingly motivated go-getter's lay the base sin nature of man. I would walk the halls of our office building and overhear gossiping, backbiting and the bearing of false witness against another all in an attempt to position oneself to get one of the 40 coveted positions. Things were chaotic, and hectic, and slightly reminded me of the first week at boot camp in which we were processed into the Corps. There were a few people however, who stood out from the rest, because they believed in Christ, and their lives reflected a strong faith in the trustworthiness of His Word.

Luke 12:24-31
Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Of course, things are always easier said than done. It's easy to come along side someone and tell them to stop worrying, and it's easy to throw some verses at someone in an attempt to exhort them back to biblical thinking. But when it's you going through the trial, and when its your family who has just lost its only source of income...things change. I looked at those who were believers around me, who were going through the exact same trial as myself for strength, but to no avail. I became increasingly upset with myself, over my lack of faith, when God graciously brought something monumentally important to my attention.

2 Corinthians 5:21
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The weight of that truth crushed my fear and my doubt. That truth is so heavy that I found any sort of worry squashed beneath an infinite mass of God's power and absolute greatness. To really ponder the fact that God made Christ, who knew no sin to be sin on my behalf, made everything that I worry about in my day to day life seem so insignificant. I find myself echoing Paul's desperate cry, wailing, O' Wretched man that I am! For I really am the chief of sinners. I honestly know no other person who is a more wicked and depraved sinner than myself, and yet while I was an enemy of God, in the midst of my most heinous sin, He still died for me. I believe God when He says He has washed me white as snow with the blood of Christ. I praise and thank the Almighty when He says He has separated my transgressions from me as far as the east is from the west. I kneel before Christ in adoration because He mercifully took upon Himself my punishment. I believe these things wholeheartedly, and when I think about how Christ saved me from what I truly deserve, which is an eternity of punishment in hell, how on earth can I allow myself to think that God could do such a miraculous work yet turn His back on my family in our time of need.

Christ is the victorious King of kings. He conquered death and sin, and displayed His majesty through His glorious Resurrection, and I dare doubt He will bring my family our daily provision? How could I think God powerful enough to cleanse me from my sin, yet to weak to help me in my circumstances? This is not some health and wealth teaching, merely look to the widow who helped Elijah...YHWH did not give her an abundance of food, her cupboards were not overflowing with sustenance, but He did provide just enough for her and her son day by day, and with each passing moment He cared for them as they hid under His gracious sovereign wings. For that we should be content and continually grateful.

Technical Difficulties

2009-01-28T20:19:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of posts recently.

My computer has totally died.

Hopefully I will be up and blogging again shortly.

Stay tuned, as I will try to post blogs from time to time from my parents house.

I Brake for Jonah

2009-01-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

Today, after having read Dan Phillips latest blog over at Pyromaniacs where he mentions his New Years resolution to read at least three chapters of Scripture a day, so as to read the Bible in a year, I decided I would attempt to read six chapters a day, so as to read the Bible twice in a year. Not that I am a one upper or anything, but I figure six chapters really isn't a whole lot considering the amount of free time we Americans have in our day and age. So, I decided to start with one of my favorite prophets, Jeremiah. After having finished my allotted daily reading rather quickly, it came to mind that this coming Sunday, the Church I attend will start an exposition on the book of Jonah, so I decided to read that.

While reading Jonah, I think the book can really be summed up in just five words which are found in the second chapter, ninth verse, "Salvation is of the LORD."

Is that not what the Apostle Paul was getting at when he declared, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Paul was saying, "Salvation belongs to the LORD," (Psalm 3:8). Whereas today's church spends so much time in business boardroom type meetings, in which they brainstorm different ways to find people's "hot-button" by appealing to the worldly part of a person, and after luring them in with all of that, they spring the gospel on them. Of course, it isn't the true Gospel, but it is a gospel that has been watered down, refined, and fine-tuned so as not to offend anyone, a gospel that is all inclusive and more palatable because it isn't all 'doom and gloom', 'fire and brimstone.' There is no hard message of repentance and turning from sin. Instead there are only glorious promises given in which the sinner (although he is never called this) is invited to cash in all the wonderful things owed to him by god. God will make your life great! All your hearts desires will come true, every dream and wish granted, because you are sons of god! Just raise your hand, walk down that isle, and say this quick trite prayer and your in! You have received your salvation inoculation shot! God is nothing but love, and since he is all love, all the time, he wants you to be happy and fulfilled...he wants you to have your best life now!

These same Churches pack huge football stadiums, and point to their success as proof that God is with them. The false teachers think they have it all figured out. Just follow the fads, do whatever is popular and in, go with the flow, be man pleasers (Gal 1:10), and if you find a persons "hot-button" you can lead anyone to Christ says Rick Warren. So much for salvation belonging to the LORD...well at least as far as Rick Warren is concerned. Sunday after Sunday, these perverse men walk out in front of their overpopulated congregations and before numerous TV cameras, they pridefully mark the broad way of destruction with a big fat flashy sign that reads, "this way to salvation."

The problem?

Salvation belongs to the LORD. That is why God is pleased by the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. It's foolishness to the world, it's crazy, and no one will ever believe such a thing, because the world through its wisdom did not know God (1 Cor. 1:21) and by itself can never come to know God, unless God Himself grants faith to them to believe in this foolish message (Phil 1:29). That is why Paul said that he didn't come in cleverness of speech or in persuasive words or in human wisdom...because all of that is nothing, it does absolutely no good; it does not at all advance the kingdom of God. If it did, men could boast, but all the glory is to be God's alone, that is why salvation belongs to the LORD. That is why Paul preached ONLY Christ and Him crucified because Paul understood the fact that salvation belongs to the LORD.

Ok...so what about Jonah? I did mention Jonah in the title.

Jonah is the best example in all of Scripture of what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians. God said to Jonah, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” (Jonah 3:2) So Jonah goes and delivers the greatest sermon ever to be delivered. Well...greatest if your judging by the number of converts it produced. Jonah cried out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4)

Wow...that sure sounds doom and gloom to me. I wonder what all the seeker sensitive churches would have to say about this fire and brimstone message. If you go on to read the rest of Jonah, the inhabitants of Nineveh took this message that was preached as one of the dreaded, "turn or burn" type sermons, the type of message they say will loose the audience, the type of message they say we must avoid at all costs, we are told people don't want to hear that, people will be closed off to such negativity if we talk like that. Are they forgetting that salvation belongs to the LORD?

The LORD of salvation gave a message to Jonah to preach, and he preached it. Jonah even preached it reluctantly, and yet, what happened? The Word of God that is living and active accomplished it's purpose...it did not return to the LORD of salvation void, but did all that the LORD had willed it to do. Imagine that...amazing isn't it? Since salvation belongs to the LORD, and since He brings about that salvation when His Word is preached, shouldn't we be out there preaching His Word. Shouldn't we be forgetting all this nonsense about appealing to people's innate fallen natures, and just be out there boldly proclaiming judgment and repentance. Yes, I know...all the polls say people don't respond to that negative stuff, but the polls obviously do not take in to account that salvation belongs to the LORD.

Foundations of Grace

2008-12-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

I am currently reading a very good book by Pastor Steven Lawson called, "Foundations of Grace: A Long Line of Godly Men." In the preface of the book, lies a quote by Benjamin Breckenridge Warfield, which at first glance comes across as quite shocking, and seems like an embellished attempt to push a pet doctrine, but as I get deeper into the book, and more importantly, as I search the various passages within the Scriptures that Steven Lawson expounds upon, the more I find myself agreeing with Mr. Warfield's statement.

"The world should realize with increased clearness that Evangelicalism stands or falls with Calvinism."

Steve Lawson rightly defends this assertion by proclaiming that, "the lofty truths of divine sovereignty provide the greatest and grandest view of God...for without the theological teachings of Reformed truth concerning God's sovereignty in man's salvation, the church is weakened and made vulnerable, soon to begin an inevitable decline into baser beliefs, whether she realizes it or not." Lawson continues by saying, "Once yielding the high ground of Calvinism, a self-absorbed church puts its full weight onto the slippery slope of Arminianism, resulting in a loss of its foundational stability. Tragically, however, the descent rarely stops there. Historically, man-centered doctrine has served only as a catalyst for an even greater fall. Rappelling down the slippery slopes of Arminianism, one is soon to find the church sinking deeper and deeper into a murky quagmire of heretical ideas. Such a descent inevitably gives way to liberalism, the utter rejection of the absolute authority of Scripture. From liberalism--given enough time--the church always plunges yet lower into ecumenism, that deadly philosophy that embraces all religions as having some part of the truth. Continuing this downward spiral, the church plummets into universalism, the damning belief that all men eventually will be saved. Yet worse, universalism gives way to agnosticism, a degenerate view that one cannot even know whether there is a God. Finally, the church falls into the deepest abyss--the hellish flames of atheism, the belief that there is no God."

I know a lot of people who would disagree with these statements, a lot of people. One major problem, and I believe the biggest reason why so many people would be opposed to the above sentiments is that the word "Calvinism" means so many different things to so many different people. Calvinism is such a loaded word; everyone has their own ideas and notions about what Calvinism is or what it supposedly espouses. Along with that, you find just as many people having varying opinions on what "hyper-Calvinism" truly is. For that very reason, I think it is best to steer away from those types of terms and badges that carry so much baggage, and really just deal with what the Scriptures have to say, because seriously, that is what it is all about. What has God really revealed to us in His Word?

Over the next few blogs I am hoping to take a closer look at the true Biblical teachings of God's sovereign grace, His predestination and election of sinners, man's total depravity, man's role in salvation (if any), God's love for the world, and anything else contained in the Scriptures related to what we typically label as "Calvinism" or "Arminianism" so that we can see clearly what God has truly told us concerning these things.

A Different Jesus, A Different Gospel pt I

2008-12-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

Rick Warren recently appeared on the Fox channel's Hannity and Colmes show to peddle his new book, "The Purpose of Christmas." Unfortunately Mr. Warren took this great opportunity on a nationally syndicated show, in which millions will see him, NOT to proclaim the true Gospel of Christ by which men can be saved...NO, instead this world famous, super celebrated and highly esteemed false teacher pushed the extremely popular, hippy-buddy-magical genie Jesus who is so often taught throughout America's Churches.

This false Jesus overlooks everyone's sin, and would never dream of men actually admitting their guilt and being remorseful to the point of repentance over their transgressions, because that way of thinking is so negative. Rather than all that "fire and brimstone" stuff, he’s all about love and wanting you to be happy no matter what. I mean, after all, Joel Osteen teaches that Jesus died to save you from a life of mediocrity and exists to give you an abundant life…in the material and financial sense, of course.

Furthermore, this pathetically weak and lonely false Jesus is so starved for fallen humanities love and affection that he stands outside the proverbial door of your heart knocking, waiting, and begging, like a cold and hungry puppy hoping that one day you will let him in. Deceivers like Rick Warren and Joel Osteen would have you believe that this Jesus’ main agenda is to do all our bidding and to answer every one of our trivial, selfish and materialistic prayers with an astounding 'YES'.

Rick Warren's Jesus does not even demand any sort of exclusivity of man's affections, because Rick's Jesus is willing to be put on some sort of probationary period, so that people can test him to see if he lives up to all the hype. I guess under those kind of circumstances, Rick's Jesus better start coughing up the goods real quick like, if he knows whats good for him, or he just might find himself thrown right back outside the heart's door, forced to go back to his knocking and waiting.

Is this the real Gospel? Does any of this resemble what the Scriptures really say? Is that the biblical Jesus? Does any of this accurately describe the true Christ? How is it that America as a whole has bought into these obvious heretical lies, and exchanged the Almighty God for this puny pitiful idol?

Matthew 16:24-25
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

The true Gospel is harsh, abrasive, and utterly offensive, because the true Jesus, found within the Bible, does not proclaim a message of self-fulfillment but demands from His disciples absolute and total self-denial. Why do you think that Jesus' own family, friends and neighbors tried to throw Him off of a cliff after delivering his first sermon? Or why did they attempt to stone Jesus on several occasion? Seriously, why do you think Jesus was ultimately crucified? If men like Rick Warren and Joel Osteen are correct, the crucifixion of Jesus doesn’t even make sense, because who on earth would kill such a fun loving guy, whose sole purpose is to make everyone happy and give them all their hearts desire? If Jesus were going around, as those deceivers would have you believe, giving fluffy, feel good messages in which people's self-esteems were being boosted, then why on earth was He murdered?

John 3:18-20
He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

Jesus was killed because He proclaimed a message that the world hated, and the world hates His messages because He exposed their true nature…that of radical depravity. Many people try to deny the inherent sin nature of man, and even within the Church itself, false teachers claim that we are not wretches, even removing that word from the old hymns, and they attempt to claim that our hearts are not desperately wicked (Jer 17:9) but those lies contradict the Scriptures. God's Word is unapologetically clear about the utter sinfulness of man and that only God alone is good...if this were not true, and we are not inherently evil and increasingly worthless, then Christ died a needless death. But the fact of the matter is that man's heart is evil from youth (Gen 8:21) and that man is totally incapable of doing good (Rom 3:12) and because of our spiritually bankrupt state, we are in desperate need of a Savior, because without the sacrifice of Christ we face the wages of our sin, which of course is death and the eternal punishment of a fiery hell.

Acts 4:12
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

Furthermore, the Gospel is hated because of it's exclusive nature, in which it clearly states that many will travel the broad road leading to hell, and only a few will enter the narrow gate leading to heaven. Yet, men like Joel Osteen deny this, and they also deny that Jesus is the "only way", thus implying that Christ lied when He said that “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6)." Mr. Osteen, I am guessing, in an attempt to be seen as “loving,” claims that he has seen Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Mormons all love God in their own way and he says that he just can’t imagine God rejecting that. Not only does Joel's teaching make Jesus' death and resurrection totally worthless since, according to him, you can believe whatever you want and still enter the narrow gate of the Kingdom of God, but Joel once again denies the truth of the Scriptures. I guess I am curious why Joel is even a professing Christian or a "Preacher" for that matter, since truth to him is merely relative.

I will continue the various reasons why the true Jesus along with the true Gospel message is hated in the next few blogs...although I will probably have a blog or two inbetween.

Holy Rock N' Rolla

2008-12-03T21:24:00.000-08:00

f course, I realize that since I have tattoos, some people tend to make certain assertions about what they assume my interests are...especially when it comes to music. More often than not, the assumptions are that I like rock 'n' roll. I couldn't even begin to count how many times I have been told I should check out a specific Church because they have a really "rockin'" band. For the record, I prefer the old hymns, and in all actuality I loathe the trendy "worship" bands that some Churches have, not only for their lack of good God centered, theologically accurate lyrics, but for their over the top cheesiness.

Before being called to Christ, one of my favorite types of music was Hardcore, which is sometimes confused with Heavy Metal, although there are huge differences between the two even though some bands have blurred the lines. In recent years, the amount of "Christian" Metal and Hardcore bands has grown substantially, with quite a few record labels devoted solely to it, bringing debates on whether Christian Metal and Hardcore is actually Christian at all.

Shortly after being called to Christ, I transitioned from secular Hardcore to Christian Hardcore, and often defended the style of music as legitimately Christian. I often heard the arguments that Hardcore sounds "demon possessed" because of the deep growling lyrics, to which I usually laughed, because who has ever really heard a demon? I highly doubt the demon possessed girl who proceeded Paul, calling
out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!", said such things in a voice that resembled the Cookie Monster. The loud aggressive style Hardcore encompasses was seen by some as angry, whereas I saw it as passionate. I never thought the Church should promote Hardcore bands, and never desired to attend a Church that played such music, but I did enjoy listening to it otherwise.

I noticed that as I grew in a true knowledge of Christ Jesus, I started to rethink some things and began to examine others. I was bothered by the fact that many Hardcore bands never said Jesus, Christ, or God. Instead they would only say Him...if that, more often than not, they spoke so broadly, vaguely and figuratively that only a very active imagination could find anything remotely involving anything Christian. The more I became familiar with the Scriptures, the more I realized how much they were missing from the lyrics in Hardcore music. Instead of the deep theological lyrics found in the old hymns, I saw songs centered on the Christian experience that had more to do with man and nothing at all to do with the glorification of God.

The final straw that broke the camels back for me was the day I contacted one of the most well known Christian hardcore bands. They were one of the few that actually had some theologically accurate lyrics and lyrics that dared mention Christ. The band is called "No Innocent Victim." The thing that bothered me about them is that they often toured with a band called "Hatebreed" which had some very openly anti-Christian lyrics. Not only that but the lead singer of "Hatebreed" is close friends with a famous pornographer. "No Innocent Victim" flaunted their friendship with "Hatebreed," even displaying them on their "top friends list" on Myspace.com

After stewing about this for a few days, I prayerfully decided to email "No Innocent Victim" along with a few other Hardcore bands (some were not Christian), sharing various Scriptures with them and pleading with them to at the very least withdraw "Hatebreed" from their "top friends list" so that a young, easily impressionable child would not be introduced to a pornographer via a Christian band.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." Therefore, "COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty.

I prefaced the letter with a plea for them not to think I was trying to come across as some elitist, but that I was worried about the message they were sending to young Christians by befriending a band with such venomously anti-Christian lyrics along with a band that was such good friends with a known and famous pornographer.

What was "No Innocent Victim's" response?

They called me a Pharisee. They said that we do not live by the letter of the Law, but by grace, thus alleviating them of obeying any Scripture. They claim that I twisted the above Scripture and I was attempting to dictate to them to live a life of a separatist, and that my close minded attitude is what is wrong with Christianity. The worst part about the response of this so-called Christian band, was that I received three letters back from Non-Christian bands who not only admitted that linking "Hatebreed" to their Myspace was careless because of "Hatebreed's" association with pornography but removed "Hatebreed" from their friends list all together. As for the other so-called Christian bands I emailed...no response.

That is the day I abandoned Hardcore music, for these so-called Christian bands abandoned the Word of God.

Fear, Irreverence & Jesus Junk

2008-12-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

e have become too familiar with God. I mean this in the sense that we as a nation and as a people no longer fear Him, as we ought to. From Christian tool sets sanctified with etched Bible verses on them, to fish-shaped breath mints, we have merchandised and trivialized His "image" to the point of nausea. We dare plaster His holy Name or a symbol associated with the Lord of lords on some piece of worthless junk and ignorantly think that we have not kindled His anger toward us? Do we honestly think He is pleased by such irreverence and idolatry...

Jeremiah 5:22
"Do you not fear Me?" declares the LORD, "Do you not tremble in My presence?"

Verse after verse, passage after passage, book after book written by the Prophets of old, warning the nation of Israel of the infinitely real dangers of treating the Lord our God with anything but fear and trembling, which we too in the Church age have recorded for our instruction so that we are also without excuse. Our lack of fear goes beyond the limitless amount of Jesus junk being peddled across our land, to the very words we speak about God in which we humanize Him, making the same mistake as those who think that the Most High can look favorably on sin like one of us. The earth is but a footstool to Him, yet we treat Him with such contempt.

Not only do we show a lack of respect toward God, but also we degrade those great men of faith He has chosen to raise up. This lack of respect shown to God's people is preached from pulpits by men who find humor in the sin of Noah's drunkenness, or laugh at the symbol of sin given by God to Ezekiel. Our land revels and parties in common costumes mocking the Patriarchs, in which the original sin...the fall of man is laughed at and scorned. Christian comedians...is there really such a thing in God's eyes?

O' yes, I take myself far too seriously, I should lighten up. After all, Jeremiah was referred to as the laughing Proph...oh wait no, it was the lamenting Prophet. Well then...Jesus, He was a man of joy...no wait, He was a man of sorrows. I do admit that Proverbs says that there is a time to laugh...but is that time now? Is that time in this day and age? A day in which God Himself in all His holiness is treated as nothing more than a cheap marketing ploy. As I have said over and over, and I will say it again, turn back to the Word of God.

Stop giving your money to those who speak lies in the name of Christ. Turn away from those who teach His Word falsely. The Church is not ours to run as we see fit, but it is Christ's, He is the Head, He is the chief Shepherd, and He has clearly and specifically laid out in His Word the orderly way it should be run. We have become adulteresses, forsaking God, the fountain of living waters, to hew for ourselves broken cisterns that hold no water. We as a people do not have the dread of the Lord God of hosts within us but have pursued the Baals. Exchanging the blessed Trinity for an idol consisting of a black woman, an Asian woman, along with a large nosed Middle Eastern man (A Shack reference for all you out there scratching your heads). This is not a time to laugh or a time to party. This is a time for serious men to man up and preach a serious message to a people who are lost and stampeding down the broad road of destruction. Warn them fervently as Paul did the Ephesians with many tears. Turn them back from their wicked ways and lament the fact that we have stood by and said nothing as it has gotten as bad as it is.

Jeremiah 5:29-31
"Shall I not punish these people?" declares the LORD, "On a nation such as this shall I not avenge Myself? An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?"

Christmas Cards pt. I

2008-11-25T21:51:00.000-08:00

his year as my Wife sat staring at the Christmas cards we were going to send out, she asked me, 'what Bible verse should we put in here?' For some odd reason, John 18:37 immediately popped into my head (no it wasn't a charasmatic moment haha), which actually surprised me quite a bit, because I never remembered actually having used that verse at all when talking to people, whereas some verses I use quite regularly. Anyways, as I sat and looked at the verse and meditated on it, I realized just what a truly great piece of Scripture it really is.

Throughout the four Gospels, Jesus says numerous times why He came into the world, citing numerous reasons for His coming, but if I am not mistaken, this is the only verse in which He states why He was born. I suppose some could argue this to be simply semantics, however, I would point to 2 Peter 1:20-21 and ask them to remember that the Holy Spirit moved each and every man to write specifically each and every word, jot and tittle for a God given reason.

John 18:37
Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a King. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

Here, Pilate asks the question of all questions, a question that every man will ask himself throughout his life, whether it is something he thinks deeply about and ponders, or whether it is simply a passing thought of which he quickly dismisses. Every single man will have thought this at one point in time or another, and the answer that each man comes to within his own heart of hearts will have eternal consequences.

Peter writes in his first epistle that 'judgment begins with the house of God', so having said that I would like to ask each and every one of you who names the name of Christ to examine yourselves to see if Jesus is your King. Does your life shine forth as a life that is lived in submission to your King, or is it a contradictory life in which you merely acknowledge Jesus as King mentally but deny Him the honor of obedient submission, just as the demons have before you?

Does James 2:19-20 characterize your so called faith? Jesus was born into this world to be King. There is no King without a kingdom, and no kingdom without subjects, and subjects are just that...subject to the authority of the King. So many of our lives are not in subjection to our Lord, so many of us pick and choose which commands we want to obey and dismiss the rest, denying the reality of Isaiah 55:9. How is it Christian, that the Lord our God can command you to do something, and you somehow think that it is a mere suggestion? Kings make declarations, not recommendations. We are given orders to follow, not proposals to ponder. Jesus was first and foremost born to be King, and He was born to be worshiped and obeyed as one. Failure to do so will result in hearing those dreaded words of our Lord who says, "why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' yet do not do what I command?" Our knees will bend before Him one way or another.

The next blog will take a look at the truth Jesus came to testify of.

The True American Idol

2008-11-20T23:49:00.000-08:00

nyone that knows me, knows what an extremely high view of Scripture I have, or if you have taken the time to read the blogs on this site, I hope that you have noticed how I continually attempt to stress the paramount importance of reading and studying the Word of God. Throughout the last few years, as I try to infect everyone around me with a hunger for the Scriptures, I have been called a Bible-thumper, a fundamentalist, and a fanatic...all of which were meant as insults, and all of which were spoken by professing Christians. The fact that someone who calls themselves a Christian would have the audacity to say that anyone could take the Word of God too seriously just blows me away.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

How often do we recite and/or read this verse and not really soak in the depth of it…that the Creator of our very universe, the One and only all powerful eternal, holy God wrote a book for us to read…yet we ignore it! We take something that is literally “God-breathed” and trample it underfoot in a race to pick up and devote ourselves to abominations like “The Shack” which is neither profitable, nor does it adequately equip us for every good work, but Churches stop worshiping God through the reading and teaching of His Word and treat heretical blasphemes with more honor and reverence than the divine Scriptures.

Christian…do you even really believe that the words contained in the Bible are the very words and mind of God? Although most would say yes, there must be doubt that the Word is living and active, and that it truly has the ability to renew and transform the mind in such a way that we are made into the likeness of our Creator and Redeemer. Otherwise, there would be more devotion to, and love for the Word of God…people would be abandoning their apostate Churches in droves because they neglect God’s Word. These apostate Churches rebel against Biblical teaching by having women Pastors and Preachers, they justify various heinous sins all while integrating psychology under the guise of changing with the times. This perverse twisting of God's Word is an abomination to Him, and if Christians truly believed the Bible to be God's breathed out Word, they could not tolerate such things. They would know that God changeth not, and their souls would be troubled, pressed, and angered just as God's is when people speak and teach lies in His holy Name.

Isaiah 30:9-11
"For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, 'You must not see visions'; And to the prophets, 'You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.'"

Is this not the spirit of the age? So many say they are tired of “fire and brimstone” teaching, even though it was Christ who spoke and warned of hell more than anyone else. If fire and brimstone preaching is anything, it is the preaching of Christ, and those who do it are only following the example that Jesus set Himself. How dare we question our Lord, how dare we say that parts of His Word are not for us! Who do we think we are that we can ignore the warnings God gave us, that He in His perfect wisdom knows we need. Jesus said that the prophets longed to see the Christ in their day, and Peter says that the prophets looked intensely inquiring to know more about the Christ, for in those days they only had parts and portions of God’s Word, and here we are in this age with the completed Word...O' how the men in ancient days would love to have what we have in the Bible…and yet we continue to ignore it, elevating man’s words and wisdom above that of the Almighty, evily and ignorantly thinking we know better than the Alpha and Omega…we should lament our behavior, we should weep, mourn and wail for our ungrateful hearts.

Ten-Hut!

2008-11-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

phesians chapter six tells us that we are at war, plain and simple. Our war is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Which means that when we engage in warfare, our weapons are not of the flesh but they are divinely powerful, and able to destroy every speculation and lofty thought which sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And that divinely powerful weapon that makes us effective warriors is the sword of the Spirit, which is the living and active Word of God. It is sharper than any double edged sword, piercing the heart of the unregenerate and backslider alike, laying them bare before the Judge. It is the very weapon Christ Himself will use to destroy His enemies at His victorious second coming. Unfortunately, however, most professing Christians are completely unarmed on the battlefield and regrettably are nothing more than casualties of war.

2 Timothy 2:3-4
"Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."

This is exactly where the problem lies. Instead of us focusing on the war that is raging on all around us, so many Christians have redirected their focus to the affairs of everyday life, thus proving themselves to be useless soldiers. Which makes me remember the time I spent in the Marine Corps...

When I first switched from active duty to reserve duty in the Marine Corps, I noticed that the two were worlds apart...worlds apart. While I was active duty, during infantry training specifically, we as Marines took our training seriously for the most part, knowing that how we train today will have an impact on how we fight tomorrow. During our simulation patrols, we were careful in how we walked, always aware that trip wires and landmines could be anywhere. Not only that, but we spent our free time working out, either lifting weights or going on runs, because our physical shape could mean the difference of life and death on the battlefield.

However, the opposite was true during the same type of training in the reserves, the often overweight Reservists carelessly stomped around like children just learning to walk, almost as if purposefully trying to step on each and every landmine and of course stumbling over every trip wire. It figures, since the majority of them were college students, their minds were not focused on preparing for war, but were preoccupied with everyday affairs, whether it be school, sports or their social lives. Being a Marine wasn't a priority, it was only a means to an end, because we all know college isn't cheap. But, the bottom line is that they would have been worthless during battle. They would have done more harm than good if we would have been called up to war. So, with that in mind...we should ask ourselves if we are lazy and useless soldiers. Do we bring reproach to the name of Christ with our lives? Are we so caught up in the world that we neglect the things of God?

Are we making the most of our time? The book of Ephesians tells us that we should be, because it says that the days are evil. Everyday we should be on guard, knowing that sin is crouching at the door, and whether we like it or not we are apart of a war. The book of Romans tells us that we can either be used as instruments of righteousness by God, or we can be used as instruments of evil. It all comes down to submission and obedience, are we dying to self every single day with our mind and eyes focused totally on Christ? Are we starting each day with prayer...knowing that all the pieces of God's armor can not be put on without it? Are we constantly renewing our minds in the Word so that we are walking carefully...in a manner that is worthy of the Almighty? By doing these things we are showing a reliance and dependence on Christ, knowing that it is only through Him that we can be victorious in this war.

He's Not Your Homeboy...OR Your Buddy

2008-11-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

t was quite a few years back the first time I saw one...my wife and I were shopping at our local grocery store and I heard an elderly woman gasp, lean over to her elderly husband and comment on this kids t-shirt who happened to be walking down the isle toward us. I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying but I knew this much, the t-shirt she saw offended her. The mother of the kid quickly piped up saying something about how a bunch of inner city gang kids had "gotten saved", and now spread their testimony through these t-shirts. If you haven't figured it out already, I am speaking of the shirts that irreverently proclaim, "Jesus is my homeboy". The details of the actual story are slightly different, so if your interested in hearing about the incredibly cheesy, more than likely false, origin of these shirts then click here. Even if this tale is accurate, one thing is for sure, these shirts are just yet one more thing to add to the list of disturbing trends becoming more and more prominent in our culture that blatantly dishonor, mock, and blaspheme our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:12-18
"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades."

Some of you may be wondering how this verse is at all relevant to the "Jesus is my homeboy" t-shirts. Well...I will explain. First off, let me remind you that the book of the Revelation was written by the Apostle John, who, as we know from the Biblical record spent a substantial amount of time, approximately 3 straight years, with Jesus traveling all over Judea and Samaria. Needless to say, they would have gotten to know each other quite well, in fact, they were so close that during the last supper, it is written that John rested his head on the chest of Jesus. Not only that, but out of all the Apostles and disciples there was but one who was singled out in which it was specifically said that Jesus loved him, and that man was John.

So with all that in your mind, look at the reaction of John when he sees the glorified Jesus...the Apostle "fell at His feet like a dead man". Now, if John falls at our Lord's feet like a dead man, what do you think we will do? What would our reaction be, having never known Jesus like John knew him? Yet, for some odd reason we ignorantly think that we can treat the King of kings in a way that is anything less than fervent adoration and reverence. This falling on your face reaction is not some isolated incident. John's reaction is the standard reaction of everyone who has seen God. Abraham also fell on his face, Moses, whom is said to have talked with God face to face as one talks to a friend, constantly fell on his face before YHWH. The Israelites fell on their faces after witnessing the Lord consuming rebellious men with fire. Joshua, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Manoah all fell on their faces before the Lord God, not to mention all the people who witnessed the fire coming from heaven when Elijah proved there to be only one true God, and Peter, during the transfiguration, fell on his face "in much fear".
It is surprising, with so many instances of people trembling and falling on their face before God that professing Christians continue to have this flippant disrespectful attitude toward the Almighty. He consumes people with fire for offering Him incense which He had not ordained, and we think we can call Him our homeboy? He causes the ground to open up and swallow those who do not honor Him and we make figurines in His likeness calling them "buddy Jesus". He tells us to not to fear those who can only kill the body, but rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell, and yet we entertain ourselves with TV and movies that contain the very sins He died to save us from. Think about it, our "entertainment" is a world void of Christ and God, where the only mention of Him is one of blaspheme in which His name is used as a common cuss word. No wonder His wrath is being revealed to us from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.

It is written that judgment begins with the house of God. So judge yourself, and judge rightly to see if you are truly in the faith. Do you abuse your liberty in Christ? Do you flirt with the world and adopt its ways, attempt to drag our Savior into the muck with us? Some Christians think that if there is not a clear straightforward text condemning something, then they are free to do it, even though the whole of Scripture makes it abundantly obvious that said behavior is wrong and sinful and the very thing that held Jesus to that cross. Just because one of the commandments is not 'Thou shalt not wear a Jesus is my homeboy t-shirt', does not mean God condones such irreverence. He not only created everything that we enjoy and take for granted, but He gave Himself up to a sinful and wicked people who tortured and killed Him so that we might have eternal life with Him. Show Him some respect!

Tattoo or Not to Tattoo...That is the Question

2008-11-02T20:08:00.000-08:00

few years back a liberal Portland newspaper, The Willamette Week, published a story, "The Word made Flesh" which is about how Multnomah Bible College lifted their ban on tattoos. The article featured a seminary grad student who not only claimed that Jesus would dig his tattoos because they glorified God, but also claimed that Jesus Himself will have a tattoo upon His second coming citing Revelation 19:16 as proof. Should Christians be getting tattoos as a demonstration of their faith? Is it legit to think that tattoos will help reach those who are lost that would otherwise be turned off by more straight laced Christian brothers? When the Holy Spirit, through Paul penned 1 Corinthians 9:22, which says "I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some," was God's intention for us to mimic the world's ways in order to spread the Gospel?

This particular subject was of great interest to me personally because prior to having been saved, I had already tattooed a majority of my body. Tattoos, to me, were a way to commemorate a time in my life, or to honor something that was important to me (such as the time I spent in the Marine Corps). So, after having been called unto Christ, I thought it only fitting to get a tattoo showing my devotion to the Almighty, since this obviously was infinitely more important than anything I previously had inked on my skin. However, shortly thereafter my conscience accused me of violating Leviticus 19:28 which states, "You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD."

I questioned if this command applied to those under Christ in the Church age because in context it is tied to a law forbidding the shaving of ones beard, or cutting the sides of ones hair, both things which are practiced by Christians everyday in this age. So, I searched commentaries for an answer, and found that pagans would shave their beard and keep their hair a certain way that they believed honored their false gods. They also would tattoo symbols on themselves to signify they were the property of, and devoted to their false god of choice. This lead me to believe that, it wasn't necessarily the tattooing itself that God forbade, but the fact that the behavior (weather tattoos or hair styles) was a pagan form of worship to glorify their false deities and thus directly violates the first commandment which states, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."

With this in mind, I enthusiastically got a large tattoo in a vain attempt to glorify the one true God. At the time, I truly believed that this tattoo I had gotten would show my Creator the unwavering devotion I had for Him. Yet, as I looked at it, I realized that God never asks us to do such things to show our devotion, but simply calls us to listen to His Word and obey His commands. Obedience to Christ and His word brings God glory...this is how we are to truly worship the Almighty. But instead, in my attempt to bring God honor, I only brought Him dishonor. I had demeaned and insulted the Holy One by treating Him as a false pagan diety. I had attempted to worship God, not in truth, but in my own way, and by my own wisdom I offered the great 'I AM' strange fire (Leviticus 10:1-3).

The pagans also worshiped their false gods through human sacrifice and with temple prostitutes, so does anyone really think we can do such things in the name of YHWH and that He will find that pleasing and acceptable? Of course that is completely absurd right? So why is it that we assume we can take another religious practice from the pagans, throw the name of Christ in the mix, and all of a sudden that purifies it in the eyes of our LORD? No where in Scripture are we commanded to tattoo ourselves but we are told to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 13:14). This does not mean tattooing a cross or the symbol of the trinity on us, but it does mean that our words and behavior should be such that those who see us, instead, see only Christ because of our submission to Him as LORD which will bear the fruit of an obedient life, in which the world could mistake us for none other than Christ's disciples because of our continual godly speech and conduct which truly glorifies the Almighty.

Obedience to the Word is what Christ commands, and this is what we ought to be focusing our minds upon, not a preoccupation with things that the world does and loves which are temporal and will pass away, but on those things which truly glorify Christ and have eternal benefits in the life that is to come. If tattoos truly glorified God, wouldn't He have mentioned it in the pages of Scripture? God is sovereign and will reach those whom He has elected through the preaching of His word. Tattoos will not save anyone or make it any easier to share the offensive gospel to a lost world, and they do not open doors to evangelize or share your testimony. We were "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Eph 2:10), and that does not hinge on weather we got ourselves a gnarly Jesus tattoo. Seriously though, take it from me when I say God gave us His Word for a reason, it is the very mind of God in whom we find eternal life, His Word contains everything pertaining to life and godliness, and we must know it and obey it and proclaim it if we are to reach the unsaved and that, folks, has nothing at all to do with tattoos.

Intestinal Difficulties...

2008-11-02T17:17:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of posts this week, I have been dealing with some health issues and spent some time in the hospital. I am now feeling a tad better and am out of the hospital so....new posts will be coming shortly.

I appreciate your patience, please check back soon...

Thy Will Be Done

2008-10-24T23:40:00.000-07:00

n the news I occasionally hear stories of people who claim God instructed them to do some horrific act that is contrary to His law and what He has revealed to us in His Word. On that same note, while at the Shepherd's Conference, I took a class on Church discipline in which the elders at Grace talked about how often they have married men and women claim that God's will for them was that they leave their husband or wife to pursue a relationship with another person. I had a friend (now former) who started dating a married man, and she claimed that it was God's will that this sin occur otherwise God would not have allowed them to meet. As absurd as that sounds, I am sure there are many other so-called Christians out there rationalizing and justifying their sin in similar ways. Using that same logic...if I was offered some crack, does that mean that God's will for me is that I become a crack head? Any Christian with half a brain should know these things obviously do not harmonize with the Word of God, so how is it that so many Christians have such a skewed view of what God's will truly is? I believe the number one reason why people have absolutely no clue what God's will for them is that they are not in the least bit familiar with Scripture. In the epistle to the Romans, Paul tells us how we can know the will of God, saying...

Romans 12:1-2
"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect

So...by default, our minds become fashioned after and adapted to the external,
superficial customs of this world system. The Greek verb "conformed" is in the passive tense, which means this progressive downward spiral of sinful thinking which, of course, leads to sinful actions (James 1:14-15) happens to us regardless of our opinion or will in the matter. We will be indistinguishable from the fallen world without the transforming power of God's Word. Scripture alone transforms and renews our minds into Christ-likeness, which arms us with the wisdom to know that certain situations and circumstances will arise, but they are trials and temptations, and through a knowledge of God's Word we should see them for what they truly are and cling to the solid rock of Christ so as to become victorious through Him. I think its so interesting that the Greek word for "transform" is where we get our English word "metamorphosis" from. Just as a caterpillar is made into a beautiful butterfly, we too through the miraculous Word of God are made into awesome new creatures with godly new desires that can, and only then, please our Creator. One of those new desires should be a hunger and thirst for His righteousness. We should long to know who God truly is and as I have said time and time again, we can not know that apart from yearning to know what God has revealed to us through His Word. This is why Peter says...

"like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation" - 1 Peter 2:2

I recently became a father and seeing how often a child needs to be fed really made this verse hit home all the more. My son, like any other new born baby, would wither and die off without being fed every few hours, and we to will wither and die spiritually if we neglect to feed on the pure milk of the Word of God. I am sure this is why the hymn writer wrote "I need Thee every hour, teach me Thy will" Which brings us back to the verse in Romans. We can not claim to know God's will if we are not constantly feeding ourselves with His Word (Matt 4:4). Before you speak presumptuously of God and say that His will is this or that for your life, ask yourself if you have been transformed by the renewing power of His Word. Examine yourself to see if you are so intimately familiar with Scripture that you are sure that what you are about to do does not violate the Law of God. It is only through a constant diet of God's Word that we will know His good and perfect will.

However, do not forget that having a mere head knowledge of Scripture will lead to a cold orthodoxy if it is not accompanied with charitable love (Rev 2:2-5). That is exactly why Paul ties together our minds being transformed with how we ought to be presenting ourselves as living sacrifices. We should be continually denying ourselves to the point of death (Luke 9:23; Phil 2:5-11), giving ourselves wholly to God, so as to put aside our desires, and crawling upon that alter before the Almighty and allowing Him to slay us, so that it is no longer I that live, but Christ in me (Gal 2:20) who works and accomplishes His will through me, so that all the glory may be His and His alone.

Pro Abortion Christians? Really?

2008-10-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

have no idea why I am so surprised when I come across things like so-called Christians claiming that it is biblical to murder babies in the name of "choice". I suppose there is still a part in me that is still naive enough to think that someone who claims to be a Christian would actually be intimately familiar with who Christ truly is and what doctrines His Word holds. I guess I tend to forget at times that the title of Christian is so loosely and widely used that it no longer even carries a real definition. I realize that the Church is predominately made up of purely nominal believers who not only lack a true knowledge of Christ and His Word but they do not show even the slightest bit of fruit in their life, but still I am dumbfounded when I see things like professing Christians twisting the Holy Scriptures to justify the mass murder of innocence. If you can stomach such blatant hypocrisy then read this.

As you can see they go into this insanely long (and that's coming from me whose blogs tend to be...well if you read them, you know how long winded I can be, although I am trying to fix that...thanks to Dan Phillips from Team-Pyro) in-depth (can you call something that is completely filled with error in depth?) explanation on how you can not take certain verses out of context (which is true, even though they take verses out of context themselves...aww sweet irony) to prove your point, and they claim the pro-lifers have done just that; taken certain Psalms out of context to justify their stance on being anti-abortion. I am going to bypass both "in-depth" arguments made by pro-lifers and pro-abortionists alike and just present to you one passage from the very lips of our LORD

Matthew 5:21-22
"You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell."

Think about this...really soak it in. The Lord God Almighty says that if you call someone a fool you are guilty enough to enter eternal damnation. Do you honestly think that God is not going to hold those who murder babies accountable for their sinful actions? Forget debating...its obvious that God's standards are so high that you can't even call someone a name without being condemned, much less physically murder an infant. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 lists all those who will not "inherit the Kingdom of God" which includes "revilers" and "covetous" people. So if I can be more transparent, if you speak "abusive language", or desire someone else's possessions you will go to hell, but some so-called Christians would have us believe that abortion, however, is OK in the eyes of Christ? Seriously, if you think that you can be a Christian and at the same time be pro-abortion, you are self deceived at best. I also want to note that the early Church who were taught first hand by the Apostles realized the sinfulness of abortion, and they recorded it in the Didache saying, "Thou shalt not murder a child by abortion." Lastly look at what God hates...yes, God hates things...and these things He hates are an abomination to Him.

Proverbs 6:16-19
"There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers."

Before I go, I just have to say this...with the election coming up, if you claim to be a Christian and plan on voting for anyone who has been known to vote "pro-choice...aligning yourself with those who are directly responsible for legislation that brings about the death of millions of babies a year, then you too are guilty of shedding innocent blood. If those who covet and those who speak abusive language will not escape judgment, neither will those who give hearty approval (Rom 1:32) to the death of innocence. Do not be self deceived.

Apostates, Gays, & Heretical Trends Oh My!

2008-10-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

recently saw Jay Bakker, son of false teachers Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, on Larry King Live, although, I think that the original interview actually took place back in 2006. The date is really irrelevant because the false doctrines that Jay Bakker propagated in that interview have been gaining more popularity as each year passes. You can find the specific statements I will be referring to, here at YouTube, and also at this online magazine.

It seems that Jay has decided to take up the cause of fighting for gay rights. His so-called ministry is focusing on reaching out to homosexuals, however, he does not call them to repentance, NO, instead he claims that God told him that homosexuality is no longer a sin. Jay Bakker's direct quote is, "This sounds so churchy, but I felt like God spoke to my heart and said '[homosexuality] is not a sin'". Now, this really opens up the flood gates of craziness and chaos. With this way of thinking, any person can claim a "new revelation" from God. I mean, seriously, this is so absurd, maybe someone will say that God told them adultery was no longer a sin, or how bout stealing? Maybe lying will be ok...ya never know, murder might be the next sin God will change His mind on. The fact of the matter is that God has made it unquestionably clear in His Word that not only is homosexuality a sin, but God does not change His mind.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."

Numbers 23:19
"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind."

Seems pretty cut and dry doesn't it? However, Jay Bakker says, "Well, I mean, I know the arguments. I know the scriptures. And the scriptures are very – you could argue on them all day. I believe they’ve been taken out of context, and I don’t believe that, you know, we’ve researched enough of the background on those scriptures." False teachers like Jay Bakker claim that 1 Corinthians 6:9 is narrowly speaking of homosexual prostitutes, and that it does not at all encompass the damnation of a supposed monogamous homosexual loving relationship. This is a lie, plain and simple. The word translated, "effeminate" does speaks of male prostitutes, however, "homosexuals" is a totally different word, and is differentiated from these effeminate prostitutes with a "nor". Thus God is declaring that neither of them will enter the Kingdom of God. Jay Bakker's doctrines are exactly what Peter warned of when he said that unstable and untaught men would distort the Scriptures in hopes of catching some off guard as to carry them away (2 Pet 3:14-18), because of this constant threat, we should be on the alert and diligent to be established in the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet 1:12).

Romans 1:18-32

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."

Here, Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, shows us that God's wrath is revealed against men who suppress the truth. The Bible says these men fail to honor and thank God even though He has made His power and divine nature evident to them through His creation, and because of their lack of honor and thankfulness toward God, "God gave them over to degrading passions". Before we go wondering what that means, Scripture explains that degrading passions consist of "women exchang{ing} the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." This really couldn't be more clear, I mean, seriously, it couldn't. If God meant to condemn merely homosexual prostitution, it would have been easy for Him to make that obvious. Or would false teachers like Jay Bakker think that when God said adulterers would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, that we should question if God meant all adulterers, or only a narrow specific kind of adulterer. We know that God is holy (Rev 4:8; Rev 15:4), perfect in purity (Deut 32:4; 2 Sam 22:31), and free from all sin (2 Cor 5:21; 1 John 3:5), so when we consider Him and His character wouldn't it make more sense to err on the side of righteousness than to assume that a holy God would tolerate willful sin?

Especially when He so clearly states, through Paul, in Romans that the act of homosexuality itself is impure, improper, depraved, wicked, evil and ranked among all unrighteousness, whether it is greed, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossiping, slandering, insolent, arrogant, boastful, being disobedient to parents...all of this behavior is considered by Christ as unloving, and those who practice such things are worthy of death. (Rom 1:28-32)

Many people debate whether homosexuals are born gay, but that debate is pointless. King David says rightly that from birth we are sinful (Psalm 51:5) and Paul proclaims that by nature we are children of wrath (Eph 2:3). Since we know that mankind is fallen through Adam (Rom 5:12-14), we should be aware that all of us have an innate sin nature (Gen 4:7) and we are all prone to sin (Jam 1:13-15) within ourselves. Homosexuals may say that from a young age they had certain "feelings" and "tendencies" toward being gay, however, from a young age I had tendencies to lie, and to steal, just as we all have sinful tendencies. Being a liar and a thief came naturally to me, so because of this, do I try and justify my lying thieving ways? No, for Christ calls us to repentance, we are commanded to turn from our sin (John 8:11) and we are commanded to deny ourselves to the point of death (Matt 16:24). Practically speaking, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I am to renew my mind in the Word of God, being transformed by the living and active Word into the image of Christ (Rom 12:1-2), so as to die to self, which is sinful, and live to Christ. The same goes for a homosexual, if he is to be saved, he must die to his desires turning from his sin, and follow Christ in all obedience.

Now...this teaching, although biblically accurate is attacked by men like Jay Bakker who say it is external religiosity to ask someone to "change" and is exactly what the Pharisees stood for, and that it is the very thing Jesus spoke out against. Jay Bakker claims that all you have to do is love God with all your heart, and it doesn't matter if you are a practicing homosexual or not. The problem with this argument is that, the Pharisees had taken God's law and added all sorts of externals to it, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN (Matt 15:9). Whereas I, and many others who are like-minded with me, am merely pointing to Scripture, and echoing the words of Christ, the Prophets, and Apostles in saying do not be deceived (1 Cor 6:10)...no sinners will inherit the Kingdom of God, that goes for liars, and adulterers, just as it applies to homosexuals. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:11 that the Corinthians were once all those things...liars, drunkards, thieves, idolaters, homosexuals...but they were washed, they were sanctified and they were justified through Jesus Christ. This did not happen because of some hypocritical love for God, in which they continued to wallow in their sin...NO...they were ONCE those things, meaning they had turned from them, they had abandoned them, they had deserted them for Christ. It is not a coincidence that Paul says do not be deceived before listing all the characteristics of those who would be banished from entering God's Kingdom. Paul said do not be deceived because we are prone to justify our sin, and we are prone to deceive ourselves into thinking we are not that sinful.

Please, do not be deceived in thinking homosexuality is not a sin. Do not be deceived in thinking obeying Scripture is legalistic...because on judgment day, many will stand before Christ and say, "Lord, Lord"...these men are deceived, thinking that they know Christ...saying "Lord, Lord" you know me! But He will tell them, "I never knew you! DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS" (Matt 7:23). The very ones who will be cast into hell are those who have no law, they are lawless, and they continually practice that which transgresses against God's Word, but, in spite of what Jay Bakker teaches, the true disciple of Christ "delights in the law of the LORD" (Psalm 1:2). Practicing homosexuals do not pay heed to the warnings of being self deceived (Gal 6:7) found in the Word of God. These men loved their sin more than they loved Christ, they loved their sin so much they would not stop practicing it.

"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil." - John 3:19

Repent and be saved! Christ will justify and cleanse you from every filthy thing that has stained your soul. Do not be deceived by your own wicked heart (Jer 17:9) into thinking God tolerates sin. If we truly trust in Christ, it is written that the old things have passed away, and we ought to be new creatures with new desires...new creatures who no longer love the darkness of our evil deeds which we once were slaves to. If we are new creatures, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit, and if we "walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please" (Gal 5:16-17). Self denial is a characteristic of Christ's disciples, self indulgence is a characteristic of an unregenerate person.

The Purpose Driven Church of the Tares Pt II

2008-10-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

f you have not read the first part of this series, I suggest that you read it before you read this, and that first post is located here.

After having established that God causes His Church to grow through the preaching of His Word (Rom 10:14, 17) in the first post, we will now see that Scripture clearly shows that God also grows His Church when there is purity within the congregation. Now, for this to occur there are some things that are umm...prerequisites if you will. The Church must be made up of regenerate believers. This may seem like a no brainer to some, especially since the word Church itself literally means "called out", so of course the Church should be made up of a body of believers who have been called out, elected, or divinely selected by the Almighty. However, there are organizations of Church planters who poll the non-believing community to ask them what they would like to see in the Church. They ask these unregenerate people what would bring them in the doors, and that is why you see so many Churches now that are indistinguishable from the world system. Since these so-called Churches have become like the world to appeal to worldly people, they are then obviously made up of those who are not truly saved, and since they are not born again, they are utterly incapable of being pure (Rom 3:10-18) and it is impossible for them to please God (Heb 11:6), or for them to live righteously as God has called us to be holy just as He is holy (1 Pet 1:16). As I pointed out in the last post, for the Church to grow, it must be continually devoting itself to the teaching of Christ and the Apostles (Acts 2:42), and in doing so it can't help but be offensive to the unregenerate sinner (Jer 6:10). We are destined to be hated as Christ was, but we also ought to be blameless as Christ was. That is the importance of the Church having purity, that we do not suffer reproach that is due us because of sin. That is why Jesus Himself set up a system of discipline that the Church is to practice, however, it is almost never practiced today, mainly because most Churches have become so much like the world that they tolerate sin, to their detriment, but do not be deceived, Christ is not in their midst (Rev 2:20)

Matthew 18:15-17
"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."

Here, Jesus is clearly stating that something must be done about sin which involves those who are in the Church. True Churches can not tolerate such behavior or they run the risk of having their lamp put out and not having the blessing and authority of Christ behind them (Rev 2:5). Now, I am not saying that we should be critical fault finders who nitpick every single sin that we may see, or make ourselves out to be junior detectives that go around searching for sin in peoples lives. For instance, if someone misspeaks and says something they shouldn't have, or maybe has an outburst of anger one time, we overlook such things because "love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Pet 4:8). We should be understanding that our flesh has not yet been redeemed and because of that we are unable to be free from every and all sin. However, since our sinning is a reality of our life until we are brought into glorification upon the return of Christ, that does not at all mean we should take sin lightly. Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" Paul, here, is giving the strongest negative in the Greek saying, God forbid that we continue in sin because we are forgiven for our sins, that type of attitude shows a total lack of thankfulness and respect toward the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf (Heb 10:26-31). We are to deny ourselves to the point of death (Matt 16:24), no longer living for our selfish desires but by faith for the glory of Christ (Gal 2:20). Our lives should be sacrificially yielded to Christ in complete obedience, clinging to the Word of God so as to allow it to transform us into the image of our Creator (Rom 12:1-2). The process of sanctification should be continually taking place, making it so that our sins are happening less frequently and farther apart (1 Thess 4:1-8). Just because we are still in the flesh and prone to sin, that is never an excuse for our sin. We should realize that each and every sin that we commit is the exact thing that killed the Son of God. Our sin is precisely what held Jesus to the cross, so upon sinning, we should be mournful and weep over the fact that we have offended and transgressed against our Lord and Savior (James 4:8-10).

The Apostle John makes all this crystal clear when he says, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8), showing us that yes, we are prone to sin, and yes, because of our innate sin nature we will stumble from time to time. However, John explicitly says "No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him" (1 John 3:6). In saying this, John is telling us that anyone who habitually sins, or whoever has a life that is characterized by constant sin has not been redeemed. They are deceived in thinking they are a Christian. The sticky area is that there are times when a legit believer will fall into a season of sin, but upon being confronted, they should respond to the voice of God, repent and turn away from their sin (1 Cor 5 & 2 Cor 2:4-11). So, a verse like 1 John 3:6 should really strike fear and doubt within the heart of a person about the legitimacy of their calling and they should wonder if they have ever truly believed with a faith that brings forth fruits in keeping of repentance (Luke 3:8).

Now, according to today's market driven Church paradigm, Church discipline is not in the least bit conducive to their visions of expeditious massive growth. They are more interested in packing the pews than in being obedient to the Word of God. But, look at Acts 5, where Ananias and Sapphira after having sold a piece of their property, went to the Apostle Peter and lied. In a vain attempt at appearing generous, they claimed to be giving ALL the money they had received for that property, to the Church, but in reality they had secretly kept a portion for themselves. What happens next is the ultimate in Church discipline..."Ananias fell down and breathed his last" (Acts 5:5). God disciplined both Ananias and Sapphira to the point of death for lying, which caused a "great fear {coming} over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things" (Acts 5:11).

Now, take into account, that during this time in the early Church, the Apostles, by the power of the Holy Spirit, were preforming great signs and wonders, causing the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dead to rise (Acts 5:12). The miraculous would have attracted the masses into flocking to the Church, but they would have been coming for the wrong reasons. Just like today's Church planters that try to get people in the doors for all the wrong reasons, whether its Starbucks, Crispy Creme or some form of entertainment...God must purify His Church from sin and from those who are there for selfish ambition through discipline, no matter how counter productive it may seem to Church growth. Because, in spite of the disciplinary death of Ananias and Sapphira and the fear that spread throughout the Church because of it, "all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number" (Acts 5:14). So far we have seen from the Scriptures, that the way that God grows His Church is totally opposite from what the modern Church says we should do to see growth in the congregation.
This deals a deathblow to the wisdom and scheming of men. It is written that "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God" (1 Cor 1:25-29) If only those who profess to follow Christ would read His Word so that they may know this, so that they too will "BOAST IN THE LORD" (1 Cor 1:31) alone.

Sola Scriptura...Seriously...Sola

2008-10-05T23:22:00.000-07:00

t always disgusts me when I see the History Channel air its specials on the Apocrypha and how it makes false assertions that the Bible was somehow just tossed together carelessly by self righteous men with agendas, who supposedly decided to leave out some books which are just as valid and true as the ones that were canonized. In reality the books found in the Bible (not the Catholic "Bible" or Jehovah Witness "Bible") are the very mind and words of God, spoken through Jesus and elect men for the purpose of being recorded and given to us in order that we may have a true knowledge of God and His counsel.

2 Peter 1:20-21
"But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."

Peter is pointing out something that is so important, so imperative, so vital that he says we ought to know this before anything else. The importance of this is shown in the Greek which carries a meaning of something being chief...holding much honor, and being the first in a procession of many things. This essential thing is that all Scripture is absolute, direct revelation from God Himself, it is supremely divine in origin, and not at all derived by an act of human will. Paul echos this same sentiment in 2 Timothy 3:16 when he says that "all Scripture is God breathed." To really soak this in and meditate on this is utterly mind blowing. Many Christians will call the Bible the Word of God, but they do not at all live as if they truly believe that statement. Take Genesis 1 for example. How many Christians actually believe in a literal 6 day Creation? Instead of taking God at His word, they try to harmonize the theories of man with the Word of God, consequently, claiming that Scripture doesn't really mean what it says. 'How can we argue with science' is the cry of modern man?! "Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar" (Rom 3:4). 'That's archaic!' some may say...while at the same time it is written, "For, 'ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER' And this is the word which was preached to you" (1 Pet 1:24-25)

So it really comes down to a question you have to ask yourself in your heart of hearts, which is, do you really believe what Peter is saying here? It is so monumentally crucial that we do believe Scripture, if we profess to be a Christian, because our faith completely hinges on it. When I say believe, I mean that we believe every single jot and tittle because, either the Bible is the Word of God or it is not. If it is not, then why even bother with it at all? It is foolish to look at the Bible as merely a loose guide of morality, because that is not what Scripture claims to be. It claims to be the very Word of God, the revelation about Christ, who alone brings Salvation. Scripture claims to be living and active, able to awaken the sinner from death and bring him into the light and life of God. Do not make the mistake of trivializing the Bible into some glorified, Confucius type book. It claims to be so much more than that. Now, since it does, we have to make the decision to believe it, or we must discard it. "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21).

Jesus was clear when He said that we can not be a slave to two Masters, (Luke 16:13) and since God's name is Jealous (Ex 34:14) He will not tolerate us splitting our allegiance, but demands that if we are truly His, that we must bow the knee of submission (Psalm 95:6) before Him alone. Who are we to pick and choose what certain doctrines we like or what we want to believe from God's Word? If we attempt such things, we have fallen into the same trap as Eve, thinking we are like God and able to discern between good from evil. How can a professing believer think only some parts of the Bible are trustworthy? Is Almighty God only partially powerful, partially knowledgeable and partially faithful? Do you then think you are only partially saved? Scripture affirms its sufficiency, and God can not lie, so then, professing Christians ought to obey the direct command "to pay attention {to the Word of God} as to a lamp shining in a dark place" that is why Peter is telling us how important it is that we realize the divine origin of the Scriptures, so that we can completely and totally rely on it in our lives to guide us through this dark world. This is why Jesus said"do not be called Rabbi, for One is your Teacher", it's not that a child in school can't call his teacher a teacher, but we are not to set anyone up, or honor anyone in our lives as having the authority to teach us on life issues besides Christ and His Word.

It is written that "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Pet 1:3) so a Christian ought not to trust God in some issues of life, only to turn around and look to man's wisdom in cults, self help books, 12 step programs, psychology or any other "lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God" (2 Cor 10:5). We either follow Christ with a whole heart or we are rebellious, there can be no duality. Either God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness or this infinite omnipotent, omniscient God did not foresee that we would end up needing further teaching in a certain area of life, thus lying to us when He said that EVERYTHING has been given to us that we need in this life.

Do we honestly think that we as humans have come upon something that is profitable through the accumulation of our knowledge that God did not know or had overlooked or did not include in His Word? If that is the case, what are you then saying about God? Is that not implying that He is not omniscient? We as Christians must be completely and totally devoted to God (Mark 12:30) and we can not truly know Him apart from His Word. A split heart is as lifeless (and useless) before God as the small child would have been who was taken before Solomon had he been cut in two. This is why throughout the entire book of 2 Peter, while Peter is warning of false teachers, he continual points to growing in a "true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" and in the midst of telling us that over and over, then points to the total importance of knowing that Scripture is God breathed.

So, looking back at our original verse, Peter says that Scripture is not up for debate when it comes to interpretation, because ultimately there is only One Author, so there are no contradictions found in Scripture. If it is read historically, literally, and grammatically it harmonizes together perfectly...error only comes into play when the reader is not looking to see what Scripture truly says, but looking to fit Scripture around their beliefs, alagorizing or spiritualizing the text. For times sake I won't go to far into this, I will save that for a later blog, but I would recommend reading some books by some very solid teachers on proper hermeneutics. Not only does Peter point out that there is One Author in saying that Scripture is not a matter of one's interpretation, but he really solidifies that fact by stating that Scripture never came about by an act of human will. He is really saying the same thing twice in two different ways to make sure that no one misses the truth that Scripture is divine in origin. The Holy Spirit caused men to write what was written. That is how Paul can say "all Scripture is God breathed", and also why Paul says, "For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe." Paul not only affirms that the Word of God is the very mind and words of God, but also that it had absolutely nothing to do with an act of human will.

Now, when you take into account that 2 Peter is written as a warning against false teachers, and look at it knowing that, you see certain patterns. Peter reestablishes foundational truths to the Christian faith that false teachers continually attack. Peter points to the truth of the trinity, election, the divinity of Jesus, that true faith produces good works, and the sufficiency and divine nature of Scripture. This is so important to know, because it is under attack today. Those in the emergent Church deny absolute truth, and the divine nature of Scripture. Others not so blatantly turn their congregations away from the Word of God and onto various best selling books. Today is judgment day, judge your own heart and judge it rightly (1 Cor 11:31). Are you a follower of Christ? Do you believe Scripture to be the Word of God? If you are and you do put aside everything else and be like Job who said "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." (Job 23:12) and learn the lesson that God has repeatedly tried to teach us, that "MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD." (Duet 8:3; Matt 4:4) The Creator has written a book, and we claim to be His followers, shouldn't we be intimately familiar with everything our Creator and our Redeemer has to say?

Election...I Couldn't Think of Another Quirky Title

2008-10-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

recently blogged about how God causes His true Church to grow, mentioning that it does this by the means of divine selection in which the Word is the instrument that God has ordained to reach those who He has chosen. I wanted to spend some time in this post focusing more on the doctrine of election and how, what is often referred to as Calvinism, is actually completely and totally a biblically sound doctrine, and also what that means for us practically speaking. At the same time, I will show the faulty thinking in what is usually called Arminianism, and how having a Soteriology based on such error leads to folly in various practical issues of the Christian walk.

1 Peter 1:1-3
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead"

This verse is a great starting point. Peter says here that we are "chosen", which literally means "elect" in the original Greek, and as we all should know, election itself carries the notion that someone besides ourselves has decided to pick us, because obviously, you can not elect yourself. So right away Peter is unapologetically pointing to the fact that us being elected in Christ was apart from any decision we made on our own behalf. On top of that, Peter then says that our election was made by the foreknowledge of God, which tells us that there was some sort of pre-arrangement involved. Paul elaborates on this point in Ephesians 1 by saying that we were chosen before the foundations of the world, giving further proof that this election has nothing to do with us whatsoever. These themes are not unique to Peter's epistle but are found in practically every book of the New Testament. There is a continual mention of being called, chosen, and elected, all by the foreknowledge or predestination of the Almighty. Now, this election by the foreknowledge of God is then compounded here with Peter saying God's "great mercy has caused us to be born again." This is an extremely important analogy because no one causes their own birth, we can not contribute to that at all whatsoever, it is solely based off of the decisions of someone other than ourselves. This fact and analogy is echoed in the 3rd Chapter of the Gospel according to John.

John 3:1-8
"Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?' Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'"

Do you see the profoundness of what Christ said? No one will see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. No one will enter heaven unless they are chosen. No one will have eternal life unless they are elect. Nicodemus, desperately wanting to know what he can do to be born again asks his question, and Christ explains how one is born again purely by the will and divine selection of the Holy Spirit, telling Nicodemus that just as the wind blows here and there as it wishes, so does the Holy Spirit do as He pleases, bestowing grace and a new birth to those who have been elected. God's sovereign election is not some new idea to the New Testament, but found all throughout the Old Testament Scriptures with the Lord of Hosts saying, "Israel, Mine elect", and seen even more specifically when YHWH says to Moses, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion" (Exodus 33:19). There is not a shred of wiggle room for anyone to take credit for the fact that they have been saved lest anyone should boast, because God has made it abundantly clear that we are called...taken from darkness while we were dead in our trespasses, being slaves to our lusts and sins but God being rich and mercy and compassion has caused us to be born again. (Ephesians 2:1-9) Think about that...we were dead in our trespasses...dead men don't make decisions, dead men are exactly that...dead, lifeless, a corpse, that is, until God intervenes breathing life into us and taking us from that darkened state and transferring us into the light of His kingdom. Over and over we see these analogies of how we were utterly helpless to do anything about our sinful state and would have stayed there without the sovereign election of God.

Now, what about free will? Everyone always talks about how we are free and have free will...that God endowed us with freedoms and has given us the gift of free will so that we can choose to do whatever it is that we may want to do whether it be good or evil. However, is that true in the light of Scripture? The Scriptures makes it clear that the only freedom that we truly have is that we are free to choose what type of sin appeals to us the most, that is the limit of our freedom. We are free to pick our poison concerning iniquity and sin. Beyond that we have no freedom, we are definitely by no means free to choose to follow Christ because Romans 3:10-18 says, "as it is written, 'THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE. THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING, THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS; WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS; THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN. THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.'" Clearly man is utterly depraved and incapable of coming to any sort of saving faith in Christ apart from God's sovereign election and that is why God says "no one seeks God". This passage deals a deathblow to all those "seeker sensitive" Churches out there that have tried to make Church more appealing to the non believer in hopes of getting him in the doors. These Churches are believing the lie that we ourselves are sovereign and have the ability to choose between good and evil. This is the exact lie that was told to Eve in the Garden, when the serpent said to her, "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." (Gen 3:4-5) The word "knowing" can also be translated to discern, to discriminate, to distinguish, giving the idea of choice. Do you see Satan's lie? Telling Eve that she would be sovereign, that she would be her own god, able to choose between good and evil. This is why Arminianism is faulty, it contradicts what Christ said in John 15:16 which says, "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit"...forget what you heard, or what you thought you knew, we are unable to come to Christ for salvation, but rather, the Father draws us to Himself (John 6:44). Arminianism gives us the impression that we are sovereign over our own lives, and leads us to believe that we can distinguish and choose between good and evil, when Scripture is totally clear that it is God who plucks us from the fire and makes us follow after Him so that all the glory would be His alone (Phil 4:20). That way no one can say they were smart enough or clever enough to have found God, or take credit for having lead someone to Christ, for the Almighty has predestined and chosen them from infinity past to be His people and His possession by His own sovereign will for His own good purpose and pleasure (Eph 1:3-12).

If we believe that we have the ability to get people saved, and that through the manipulation of a person's will, we can get them to produce their own salvation, then we might as well support the idea to market Christ like any other thing for sale on any given T.V. commercial. It would make sense then to do whatever it takes to scheme and find any way possible to finagle a person with anything that would stir their emotions, whether it be music, videos, light shows to the point that truth is minimized and manipulation is maximized. We would then ignore knowing nothing but Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:1-5), and instead focus on style, technique and gimmickry. The big crusades have the counselors, ushers and whoever else is working there go with their wives and stand in the midst of the crowd and once the invitation is given, they are instructed to start flooding the isles making their way to the stage as the Evangelist points at them and says, "look! they are coming to Christ!" in hopes of getting others to be caught up in the flow so as to come forward and say their little prayers and get saved. But is it even a true conversion? You can not manipulate people into the Kingdom. That is exactly why Paul said that he did not come with craftiness or cunning speech but only preached Christ and Him crucified, he did this so that no one could ever point to Paul as being persuasive or that salvation came by any means except the Holy Spirit, Paul wanted it to be clear that the Word was the power of God unto salvation (1 Cor 2:1-5).

Besides producing humility in the believer, knowing that we do not at all deserve this mercy, within this humility there should be thankfulness, and thankfulness should promote righteous living. When we really grasp the concept that we have been elected for no other reason then God's good pleasure and because He has willed to do so, this should move us to be so thankful that we want to honor the One who has chosen us by living an obedient life. Our eyes should not be focused on temporal earthly things but on the things above, not becoming entangled with the affairs of this world so as to live a life pleasing to God (2 Tim 2:3-4). It pleases Him to proclaim His Word. As I have already shown from the Scriptures, God has elected those who will believe and we are instructed to proclaim the truth. Because Christ prayed that we would be sanctified by truth, and the Word of God is the lone source of truth (John 17:17). We are told to preach the Word in and out of season (2 Tim 4:2) and those who are elect upon hearing the Word preached will then be convicted and come to a saving faith (Rom 10:14, 17). This takes all the guess work out of how to evangelize and how to grow the Church. Since we know that upon hearing God's word those who are elect will believe, then we ought to be giving attention to the public reading of Scripture, to teaching and to exhortation (1 Tim 4:13), plain and simple. That is why in Paul's final words to the Ephesian elders, he said, "Now I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace which is able to build you up" (Acts 20:32), he did not commend them to the latest fads and trends and marketing or the latest popular books, for it is the Word alone that plants seeds in the good soil which produces lasting roots that will never be moved (Matt 13). Everything else plants seeds on bad soil that although may produce a plant, it will lack fruit much like the fig tree that was cursed by Christ (Matt 21).

Technical Difficulties...

2008-10-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

We recently had some computer problems...the computer just wouldn't turn on, it kept getting stuck in the very beginning Windows loading screen. However, thanks to the genius of my buddy Toan, we are back up and running and new posts will be making there way on here very shortly.

Wise Words from George Whitefield 1714-1770 (taken from his sermon on Acts 26:28, titled, "The Almost Christian")

2008-09-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

t has been, no doubt, a misfortune that many a minister and sincere Christian has met with, to weep and wail over numbers of promising converts, who seemingly began in the Spirit, but after a while fell away, and basely ended in the flesh; and this not for want of right notions in religion, nor out of a servile fear of man, nor from the love of money, or of sensual pleasure, but through an instability and fickleness of temper. They looked upon religion merely for novelty, as something which pleased them for a while; but after their curiosity was satisfied, they laid it aside again: like the young man that came to see Jesus with a linen cloth about his naked body, they have followed him for a season, but when temptations came to take hold on them, for want of a little more resolution, they have been stripped of all their good intentions, and fled away naked. They at first, like a tree planted by the water-side, grew up and flourished for a while; but having no root in themselves, no inward principle of holiness and piety, like Jonah's gourd, they were soon dried up and withered. Their good intentions are too like the violent motions of the animal spirits of a body newly beheaded, which, though impetuous, are not lasting. In short, they set out well in their journey to heaven, but finding the way either narrower or longer than they expected, through an unsteadiness of temper, they have made an eternal halt, and so "returned like the dog to his vomit, or like the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire!"

But I tremble to pronounce the fate of such unstable professors, who having put their hands to the plough, for want of a little more resolution, shamefully look back. How shall I repeat to them that dreadful threatening, "If any man draw back, My Soul shall have no pleasure in him:" And again, "It is impossible (that is, exceeding difficult at least) for those that have been once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and the powers of the world to come, if they should fall away, to be renewed again unto repentance." But notwithstanding the gospel is so severe against apostates, yet many that begun well, through a fickleness of temper, (O that none of us here present may ever be such) have been by this means of the number of those that turn back unto perdition.

Proceed we now to the general thing proposed, namely, to consider the folly of being no more than an almost Christian.

And the FIRST proof I shall give of the folly of such a proceeding is, that it is ineffectual to salvation. It is true, such men are almost good; but almost to hit the mark, is really to miss it. God requires us "to love Him with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our strength." He loves us too well to admit any rival; because, so far as our hearts are empty of God, so far must they be unhappy. The devil, indeed, like the false mother that came before Solomon, would have our hearts divided, as she would have had the child; but God, like the true mother, will have all or none. "My Son, give Me thy heart," thy whole heart, is the general call to all: and if this be not done, we never can expect the divine mercy.
Persons may play the hypocrite; but God at the great day will strike them dead, (as He did Ananias and Sapphira by the mouth of His servant Peter) for pretending to offer Him all their hearts, when they keep back from Him the greatest part. They may perhaps impose upon their fellow- creatures for a while; but He that enabled Elijah to cry out, "Come in thou wife of Jeroboam," when she came disguised to inquire about her sick son, will also discover them through their most artful dissimulations; and if their hearts are not wholly with Him, appoint them their portion with hypocrites and unbelievers.

But, SECONDLY, What renders an half-way-piety more inexcusable is, that it is not only insufficient to our own salvation, but also very prejudicial to that of others.

An almost Christian is one of the most hurtful creatures in the world; he is a wolf in sheep's clothing: he is one of those false prophets, our blessed Lord bids us beware of in His sermon on the mount, who would persuade men, that the way to heaven is broader than it really is; and thereby, as it was observed before, "enter not into the kingdom of God themselves, and those that are entering in they hinder." These, these are the men that turn the world into a luke-warm Laodicean spirit; that hang out false lights, and so shipwreck unthinking benighted souls in their voyage to the haven of eternity. These are they who are greater enemies to the cross of Christ, than infidels themselves: for of an unbeliever every one will be aware; but an almost Christian, through his subtle hypocrisy, draws away many after him; and therefore must expect to receive the greater damnation.

But, THIRDLY, As it is most prejudicial to ourselves and hurtful to others, so it is the greatest instance of ingratitude we can express towards our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. For did He come down from heaven, and shed His precious blood, to purchase these hearts of ours, and shall we only give Him half of them? O how can we say we love Him, when our hearts are not wholly with Him? How can we call Him our Savior, when we will not endeavor sincerely to approve ourselves to Him, and so let Him see the travail of His Soul, and be satisfied!

Had any of us purchased a slave at a most expensive rate, and who was before involved in the utmost miseries and torments, and so must have continued for ever, had we shut up our bowels of compassion from him; and was this slave afterwards to grow rebellious, or deny giving us but half his service; how, how should we exclaim against his base ingratitude! And yet this base ungrateful slave thou art, O man, who acknowledgest thyself to be redeemed from infinite unavoidable misery and punishment by the death of Jesus Christ, and yet wilt not give thyself wholly to Him. But shall we deal with God our Maker in a manner we would not be dealt with by a man like ourselves? God forbid! No. Suffer me, therefore,

To add a word or two of exhortation to you, to excite you to be not only almost, but altogether Christians. O let us scorn all base and treacherous treatment of our King and Savior, of our God and Creator. Let us not take some pains all our lives to go to heaven, and yet plunge ourselves into hell as last. Let us give to God our whole hearts, and no longer halt between two opinions: if the world be God, let us serve that; if pleasure be a God, let us serve that; but if the Lord He be God, let us, O let us serve Him alone. Alas! why, why should we stand out any longer? Why should we be so in love with slavery, as not wholly to renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil, which, like so many spiritual chains, bind down our souls, and hinder them from flying up to God. Alas! what are we afraid of? Is not God able to reward our entire obedience? If He is, as the almost Christian's lame way of serving Him, seems to grant, why then will we not serve Him entirely? For the same reason we do so much, why do we not do more? Or do you think that being only half religious will make you happy, but that going farther, will render you miserable and uneasy? Alas! this, my brethren, is delusion all over: for what is it but this half piety, this wavering between God and the world, that makes so many, that are seemingly well disposed, such utter strangers to the comforts of religion? They choose just so much of religion as will disturb them in their lusts, and follow their lusts so far as to deprive themselves of the comforts of religion. Whereas on the contrary, would they sincerely leave all in affection, and give their hearts wholly to God, they would then (and they cannot till then) experience the unspeakable pleasure of having a mind at unity with itself, and enjoy such a peace of God, which even in this life passes all understanding, and which they were entire strangers to before. It is true, if we will devote ourselves entirely to God, we must meet with contempt; but then it is because contempt is necessary to heal our pride. We must renounce some sensual pleasures, but then it is because those unfit us for spiritual ones, which are infinitely better. We must renounce the love of the world; but then it is that we may be filled with the love of God: and when that has once enlarged our hearts, we shall, like Jacob when he served for his beloved Rachel, think nothing too difficult to undergo, no hardships too tedious to endure, because of the love we shall then have for our dear Redeemer. Thus easy, thus delightful will be the ways of God even in this life: but when once we throw off these bodies, and our souls are filled with all the fullness of God, O! what heart can conceive, what tongue can express, with what unspeakable joy and consolation shall we then look back on our past sincere and hearty services. Think you then, my dear hearers, we shall repent we had done too much; or rather think you not, we shall be ashamed that we did no more; and blush we were so backward to give up all to God; when He intended hereafter to give us Himself?

Let me therefore, to conclude, exhort you, my brethren, to have always before you the unspeakable happiness of enjoying God. And think withal, that every degree of holiness you neglect, every act of piety you omit, is a jewel taken out of your crown, a degree of blessedness lost in the vision of God. O! do but always think and act thus, and you will no longer be laboring to compound matters between God and the world; but, on the contrary, be daily endeavoring to give up yourselves more and more unto Him; you will be always watching, always praying, always aspiring after farther degrees of purity and love, and consequently always preparing yourselves for a fuller sight and enjoyment of that God, in whose presence there is fullness of joy, and at whose right-hand there are pleasures for ever more. Amen! Amen!

The Purpose Driven Church of the Tares Part I

2008-09-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

n earlier posts I have mentioned Joel Osteen (here and here) and how he does not, at all, even come close to holding to anything that could even be remotely confused with the teaching of sound doctrine. Joel's motivational uplifting self-esteem filled messages resemble Oprah, Dr. Phil & Tony Robbins instead of the Apostles Paul and Peter. His teaching is completely and totally void of any biblical truths to the point of being flat out heretical. This idea of the Purpose Driven Church is market and fad driven, and there are many in the spot light who point to the size of their Churches as proof that they are doing God's work. How on earth could this be an accurate way to determine if God is leading them when Jesus Himself said that many will travel the broad road of destruction but few will enter by the narrow gate which leads to life (Matt 7:13-14). Are we to look at the success of the various cults and think that God has put His blessing on them? The fact of the matter is that a true Calvinist (which would actually be a biblicist...is that even a word?) cannot look at Church growth as a gauge of God's approval because Scripture is crystal clear...God is sovereign.

Rick Warren arrogantly and wrongly says that given enough time he can make anyone believe in God, but since Scripture, time and time again, reaffirms the fact that we are "called", and clearly states that we did not choose the Lord, but He has chosen us (John 15:16), it is then apparent that the Church grows not by the will and craftiness of man but by supernatural means, more specifically, by the will and election of God, which means that the number of those that will be saved will not fall short by even one soul. Acts 2:39 shows us how God will build His Church through divine selection.

"For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself."

Over the next 3 blogs we will look at the various biblical elements of true Church growth...

-They spoke the Word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31)

Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

The living and enduring Word of God is the instrument by which God causes a sinner to be born again (1 Pet 1:23), that is why it is paramount that it, and it alone, is preached.

Romans 10:14
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

Peter knew this to be true and that is why he preached from the Word of God at Pentecost. In chapter 2 of Acts Peter read from the Scriptures and then expounded on what those truths meant. Today's Church of the tares claims that the Bible is outdated and archaic, even sometimes going as far as to say it is human in origin, and that it is no longer relevant to today's world and problems. They set it aside so as to teach human wisdom from books not inspired by the Holy Spirit. This produces a so-called believer without roots, whose faith has no foundation and will eventually die off because the Scriptures are evident that Christ is the Chief Cornerstone of true faith and the Apostles and Prophets laid the foundation upon which we are to build our faith. If a Pastor fails to bring sound, healthy doctrine, make no mistake, he can never build anyone up in the faith, no matter how "moral" the person may seem externally (Matt 13:3-9, 18-23; Matt 21:18-19; cf. 1 Cor 3:10-11; Eph 2:19-21) since that person lacks a foundation. They cannot then be built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood so as to be acceptable to God (1 Pet 2:5). After Peter delivered the Word of God accompanied with exegetical teaching, we see the effect that God brings about within the heart of sinful man.

Acts 2:37-38
"Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do?' Peter said to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

Notice how this ties perfectly into what the writer of Hebrews said? The Word of God pierces the heart and convicts the soul, and that is why strictly teaching the Word is such a necessary part of Church. Also take note of what Peter says to them when they inquire of him what they should do...Peter doesn't pull a Joel Osteen and tell them to hold their heads up high, that God loves them no matter what and that they should be proud of themselves because they are from royal stock, Peter tells them to repent. As I mentioned in my last post, the people who are citizens of heaven are those who realize their spiritual bankruptcy and look to Christ alone to save them. Contrary to what Rick Warren claims in "The Purpose Driven Life," saying some quick little prayer will not save you, neither will raising your hand at some alter call. Turning from your sin and calling out to Christ as your Savior and submitting to Him as Lord is the one and only thing that leads to Salvation (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; Matt 7:21-27; Luke 4:46-49). Instead of giving them some felt needs message, Peter went on exhorting these men toward repentance (vs. 40) and God used that to grow His Church (vs. 41). Continue down Acts 2 and you will see that "they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (vs. 42) which lead to "the Lord...adding to their number day by day those who were being saved" (vs. 47). The Apostles had a total disdain for any sort of contextualization (they were not at all in the least bit concerned with fads, trends or styles relating to clothes or music) but the message transcended across all social barriers, whether it was age, racial or cultural...it is written that "they had all things in common" (Acts 2:44) and "were of one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32). It is so important to remember at this time in the first century people were totally divided by their cultures (so much more so than now), the Jews had nothing to do with the Greeks...knowing this should help us deeply appreciate the supreme power that God's Word has to break down such long standing boundaries and to unite us as one in Christ (Phil 2:2; 1 Cor 12:12-13; Gal 3:27-28). That is why it is so sad when one of the first questions or comments I always hear young people say about Church is whether the music is modern or not. Church is not about you being entertained with the latest style of music but about coming before the Lord in worship. When I first started attending Church, the style of music I enjoyed was drastically different from the old hymns we sung during the gathering of the assembly, but I loved them regardless because they were rich with theological truth which glorifed God. Those old hymns are packed with truth from Scripture so as to teach even during the musical part of the service. Everything in a Church service should be pointing to Christ and to His Word.

This is exactly why Churches should not be teaching or preaching from anything other than the Word of God. It is dangerous and rebellious to appeal to anything innate to people’s falleness (is that a word?). The message that is preached must be alien, it must be divine, it must be God's very mouth and mind...nothing else brings eternal life.

Shawn. Shawn, Shawn, you don't even know -- you're glib.

2008-09-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

wanted to take this opportunity to clarify what I said in my earlier post (found here), and speak more on the subject of suffering in the Christian walk. I felt that if I simply left things the way they are, that it could open the door for some Tom Cruise know-it-all type to come along and tell me how depressing I am and how I take myself way to seriously and how I am just moments away from flogging myself and how I shouldn't spend so much time talking or thinking about such downer subjects even if they are found in the Bible. Actually, this exact thing was recently said to me when I confronted a false teacher about the health and wealth prosperity gospel he was trying to peddle to some people very dear to me.

It seems the urgency to address such doctrines is all the more pressing considering that people like Joel Osteen (who "pastors" America's largest "Church") are out there deceiving the masses telling them that Christ's death was to save us from our mediocrity, and to give us victory over our finances. Don't believe me? Here's the link. Joel along with the false teacher I mentioned earlier love to quote John 10:10b saying, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." To them, this means that Jesus came to be our personal magical genie, granting whatever materialistic selfish wish that we may desire. But...is that what Jesus actually meant?How does this view harmonize with the rest of Scripture? How is it that the Apostles and the majority of the early first century Church were living in poverty? Would these prosperity charlatans have us believe that they know something the Apostles didn't? Why was Paul merely a humble tent maker and not living in multi-million dollar estates complete with private jets, helicopter pads and limos?

Let's start by debunking Joel Osteen's absurd statement with 1 Corinthians 15:3
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures"

See that? Paul's important message which he delivered in much haste was that Christ died for our sins. The good news of the Gospel is the forgiveness of sins, because without that we are doomed and on the highway to hell. The Gospel has absolutely nothing to do with mediocrity. That is why persecution and suffering await true believers. Because true believers will be proclaiming the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27) and no one wants to hear that they are sinners and deserving of eternal hell.

Philippians 1:29
"For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake"

Did Paul forget to mention that its also been granted to us to be free from all illness, and to be financially victorious? Nowhere in Scripture does it equate health and the obtaining of materialistic goods with maturing and growing in Christ likeness. In fact, Scripture clearly indicates that suffering is the true evidence that we are being molded into Christ's image, and as mature obedient believers, we can count on the fact that we will be suffering for His name's sake. Let me explain...

In Matthew chapter 5 we see Jesus great Sermon on the Mount, in which He lists what we now call the Beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Many men, far better than I, have taught and written extensively on this portion of Scripture, and I would highly recommend taking the time to listen and read what they have to say, but for times sake I will quickly skim through this. In the beatitudes, the Lord Jesus Christ is showing us a progression of characteristics found in the hearts of the citizens of the Kingdom of God. It starts first by God calling the reprobate through a conviction of him over his sin, leaving the sinner broken and contrite in heart, knowing that he is absolutely spiritually bankrupt, and that nothing commends him before a holy God. This is being poor in Spirit. When we realize our absolute need for a Savior and cry out to Christ for forgiveness of sins...then ours is the kingdom of heaven. The progression of maturity and Christ-likeness goes on until we see in verse 10 that the citizens of heaven will be persecuted for righteousness sake. Note that verse 11 says, "Blessed are you when people insult and persecute you," there is no if, but when. This will happen, if we are truly regenerate citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

1 Thessalonians 3:2
"and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know." (Also see Acts 9:15-16)

As I showed from Peter in my last post, our purpose is to experience the sufferings of Christ, and here Paul says we are destined for afflictions and suffering for Christ's name sake. So what does that all mean? For Christ's name sake? It means that the true, pure message of the Gospel is so offensive because it confronts one's sin, that it will anger the world if it is preached. (Jeremiah 6:10 NIV, "To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it" cf. 1Pet 2:6-8) If we are faithful to preach the unadulterated gospel, we will be following in the footsteps of Christ Himself, being persecuted without cause.

However, men like Joel Osteen escape this persecution and suffering and win the approval of the world by twisting the gospel in such a way that it no longer resembles anything remotely biblical so as to leave out any mention of sin, the coming judgment, eternal damnation, or calls to holy living, which are all things Jesus Himself spoke frequently about. These false teachers do an eternal disservice to those deceived by their smooth speech and constant flattery with their self-esteem filled messages (Jude 4, 10-16), because they flat out refuse to follow Paul's example of knowing nothing but Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2) which will inevitably bring the sufferings of Christ in abundance (2 Cor 1:5). So that bring us back to John 10:10. What did Jesus mean when He said He came to bring life and life abundantly. He meant that He came to bring eternal life, an eternal life in which we will spend it in glory with our Creator and our Redeemer. That is precisely why Paul says this in Romans 8:16-19,
"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God."

Where's a Bull Whip When You Need One?

2008-09-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 14:40
"But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner."

Titus 2:2
"Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance."

Titus 2:6-8
"Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us."

1 Timothy 3:11
"Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things."

Not to mention that one of the fruits of the Spirit is self control (Galatians 5:22; Titus 1:7-9; 2 Peter 1:5-7)...John MacArthur was right in calling it Charasmatic Chaos

I'm the Party Pooper

2008-09-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

ith all the recent brouhaha (I seriously can't believe I just used that word, and highly doubt I even spelled it correctly) over Mark Driscoll and his language, I sincerely hope this title won't be considered scatological humor, its just that when I realized what I wanted to blog about, I instantly thought of the beginning of Kindergarten Cop when Arnold kicks down this door to some crack house and responds to some astonished crack head asking who he was by saying, "I'm the party pooper," just before pumping two slugs into the druggies chest.

With that in mind, I really felt that it was an appropriate title because this bit of Scripture will truly rain on some peoples parades and confront their partying ways, hopefully piercing their heart with conviction.

1 Peter 4:3
"For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries."

I recently came across a professing Christians myspace that said, "I am a christain but i am flawed. I will go out with my friends and dance the night away (cocktail in hand) on a satureday and be at church bright and early Sunday morning letting God continue to mold and shape me as he see's fit. Thats just me. I'm random. I'm spontaneous." (The typos in the quote are not mine)

Now...before I get into it, I first want to point out that her saying "I am flawed" does not at all constitute a true confession of sins. True biblical repentance bears fruit, (Matt 3:8) resulting in righteous behavior, and ultimately a radically changed life (Rom 10:10), whereas this girl admits that what she is doing is wrong, however, she continues to do it anyway.

So...does this way of living harmonize with the Word of God? Can one have a divided heart, living a life of wanton pleasure, and at the same time truly be a disciple of Christ? Peter says earlier in this same epistle that we ought to be obedient children, and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, commands us to no longer be conformed to our former lusts that we indulged in, in our ignorance, that is, before we were called out of darkness and to the light of Christ. We are also commanded to be holy just as God is holy (1 Pet 1:14-16). Furthermore, Peter says we should be putting aside all hypocrisy (1 Pet 2:1), which plainly means that we are not to be out dancing the night away, cocktail in hand, Saturday night and then turning around to play Church on Sunday morning. Peter goes on to say that we should be following in the footsteps of Christ who suffered, in fact, throughout this entire epistle Peter clearly shows us that the Christian life is one of suffering (not partying) by saying, "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose" (1 Pet 4:1a)

Our purpose isn't to pursue our needs, wants, desires and pleasures, but to live for Christ. Scripture makes it perfectly clear that we are not to be out partying like rock stars, because that is the way non-believers live their lives, but our purpose is to be unified to Christ in His sufferings (Phil 1:29; Phil 3:8-11). Or do we honestly think that some how that doesn't apply to us, or that we can escape such things when the one whom we profess to follow endured it?

Have we so quickly forgotten what Christ said in John 15:18-20, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master ' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also."

Christ suffered, and since we are obviously not greater than He is that means we will suffer also, so it is inevitable that our lives will be that of persecution and suffering if we are truly His disciples. But...why must we suffer? 1 Peter 4:1b-2 says, "because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God."

It's a good thing, because if you are suffering for Christ and in the same manner as Christ, that means you are preaching the Word and suffering without reason, then you can count it all joy (James 1:2-3) knowing that you are being transformed into His likeness and that spiritual maturity brings holy living, which results in a life that has ceased from sin but that lives to do the will of God. Your priorities have changed.

That brings us full circle to our original verse...stop living and partying like non-believers because the time for all that type of behavior is over. The reality of the situation is that Christ died to save us from that sinful behavior...actually, that exact type of behavior is what killed the Son of God. If we have truly been called out of such ignorance and darkness, our eyes should be opened to the fact, and we should also realize that "the end of all things is near" (1 Pet 4:7), so instead of dancing the night away, with a cocktail in hand, we should be sober and alert awaiting the return of the Almighty. Not waiting, as in sitting there and doing nothing, but doing the will of God. As the old Puritan said, we should be preaching the Word as if Christ died yesterday, rose today, and is returning tomorrow. We should be acting with a sense of urgency, because really...this is life and death we are talking about.

Lastly, on a personal note, this particular subject is something that I have struggled with greatly in my own life. It was only a few years ago that my life was centered on getting wasted. Shortly after being called to Christ, I was unaware of these commands in Scripture, and I was unaware of the necessity to become Holy as He is Holy, so I continued in this sinful duality, and half heartedness toward God. I thank God, however, that He has not left us in the dark concerning such things but has revealed these commands and warnings in His Word, and that is one reason why it is so imperative to be addicted to Scripture as I mentioned in my last post, so that we can be transformed to the image of Christ through His supernatural Word knowing the very mind and will of God (Rom 12:2). Remember...if we hear the words of God and turn our back on His calling to pursue sin, we really ought to be stricken with fear and the possibility that we are not truly regenerate for the Scriptures say...

Hebrews 10:26-31
"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, 'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY' And again, 'THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.' It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Addiction: Not Always A Bad Thing

2008-09-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

n medical terminology, addiction is a state in which the body relies on a substance for normal functioning and develops physical dependence.

2 Peter 1:19
So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

The Greek word "prosecho" which is translated here as "to pay attention" can also be translated as "to be addicted".

Is that not completely and totally profound? It was utterly mind blowing to me when I learned that, and continues to be every time I think about it. You see, I have been addicted to quite a few things in my life, most of which are unquestionably sinful. I have experienced and know first hand what it is like to rely on and crave something to the point that, if for some reason I could not obtain it, I would be set into an instant panic. As my body ached, my mind would be consumed with ways to acquire that with which I was addicted to, I could literally think of nothing else. The moment I possessed that which I craved and sought after, I remember it being this euphoric ecstatic happiness.

The Apostle is saying that this is exactly how we should feel about the Word of God. We ought to be addicted to it, craving it, longing for it, and totally relying upon it. We should be like Job who said, "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." (Job 23:12) Seriously, just sit and really soak that in and think about what Job just said. Job wasn't just saying that, ya know...how we often compliment those around us, saying something kind or nice when we don't really mean it. Job was upright, truthful, and honest. He fully understood what it meant when it was written, "MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD." (Deut. 8:3; Matt 4:4) Job knew, that just as we need our necessary food for our physical bodies to live (temporal), we need the Word of God every single day if we are to survive spiritually (which has eternal ramifications). That is why Peter said, "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation" (1 Pet 2:2).

Looking back at 2nd Peter, why does the Apostle say we ought to be addicted to the Word of God? Because it is like a lamp shining in a dark place. Those who are without Christ are said to be futile in their thinking, darkened in their understanding, excluded from life with God because of the ignorance that is in them. They have calloused, sin hardened hearts because they continually give themselves over to sensualities, impurities and greediness (Eph 5:17-19). Although we have been called out of this darkness (Col 1:13; 1Pet 2:9), we can all still run the risk of stumbling (James 3:2) in this dark, sinful world without the Word of God to guide our paths. That is precisely why the Psalmist said "it is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105) Because sin can so easily entangle us, we need the Word of God to supernaturally shed light onto the narrow path which leads to life.

Our absolute need for light to guide our paths is the reason we should be completely addicted to the Scriptures. This addiction does not only apply to us in our individual lives but also applies to the Church. Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:13, "give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching." See where it says "give attention"? That is that same word I mentioned earlier, "prosecho", the Church should be addicted to the reading and teaching of Scripture, and to exhorting the congregation.

Because of all this, I am just completely dumbfounded when professing Christians swarm to these so-called Churches that toss the Word of God aside so that they can instead study garbage like "The Shack," "The Purpose Driven Life," "Your Best Life Now," or even "The Secret." This is in direct defiance to God's commands for us personally and the Church. These professing believers have fulfilled 2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires." Look at Lakewood Church and Joel Osteen, where thousands upon thousands of so-called believers turn their back on the Word of God for some feel good motivational speech that is completely and totally human in origin. Or look at the Emergent Church movement, which constantly scrambles around in an attempt to discredit the Word of God. What does Scripture say about man's wisdom?

Jeremiah 17:5 "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD."

But whats wrong with listening to what some person has to say?

Psalm 146:3 "Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation."

There is no salvation in man, God alone gives life and that is why Peter said to Jesus "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." (John 6:68)

So let's all learn a little something from Peter and start up a new healthy addiction to God's Word because His Words alone have eternal life.

This IS a Declaration of War

2008-09-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

"We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" - 2 Corinthians 10:5

As it becomes all the more evident that we are living in a time much like the Judges, in which everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25) , it is then apparent that believers need to start taking the call to arms Paul issues in Ephesians 6 seriously and start wielding the Sword of the Spirit as to destroy every ideology, belief and opinion that opposes the Almighty. The men who propagate such falsehoods and deceit must be silenced (Titus 1:10-11) and put to shame by the powerful truth of God's Word.