Ignoring the Cry from Hell  

Posted by Shawn in ,

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  

Posted by Shawn in ,

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  

Posted by Shawn

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...  

Posted by Shawn in , , ,


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  

Posted by Shawn in ,

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  

Posted by Shawn

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  

Posted by Shawn in , , ,

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.