What Were the Angels Singing?

Tonight as I was putting my daughter to bed, we read the nativity account from her Jesus Story Book Bible and left off on the account of the shepherds who had a vision of the angelic host of heaven singing on that first Christmas night. After we read the account I sang "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" to her and put her to bed. Every Christmas when I hear that song, it invokes memories of George Bailey holding his baby daughter in his arms and hearing a bell ring, signaling that Clarence the angel has obtained his wings.  Although I love "It's a Wonderful Life" and enjoy the wholesome message of a classic movie, I think many people overlook the classic Christmas carol and the rich theology behind it. When Charles Wesley wrote this song he was thinking of the glorious event of Christmas when God became a man. His words were as theologically sound as can be, "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’incarnate Deity, Pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel." Wesley the evangelist was preaching the gospel even in his music.

But why is Christmas so important? Why do we celebrate this holiday every year? Why do we sing carols like this? Because the night Jesus was born, the single most spectacular and historical event that would even happen- took place. The same God who created the universe and placed all the stars in their place, and who created the earth and all that exists, and who had been making promises to mankind through the descendants of Abraham for generations, had come down to earth and was born to a woman as a human baby boy. The night Jesus was born the unimaginable took place...A Holy, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omni-present God, humbled himself to become like the very people he created... in His image. The concept is so amazing, and so tremendous, that for generations people have denied the incarnation of Christ, from the religious( like the Watchtower Organization), to the intellectual, and scientific community who disregard it as a myth of the old world. But to us who believe, it is no fable, and it is no theological paradox- it is the greatest truth that we hold dear to our hearts- that God loved us so much he gave us his only Son as a gift, to die for our sins, that all who believe in him, would have hope of being forgiven our sins, and living forever with him in all eternity. This is the greatest gift anyone can receive! It is the gift of God, His Son. And as scripture says, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" Rom. 8:32. Essentially Christmas is about God giving us everything. You may not have gotten an I-pad this Christmas, or that vacation to Hawaii, but in reality- you have much more if you have Christ.

So what were the angels singing? Luke 2:14 answers the question, "“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

What more can we sing or say on such an occasion, but "Glory to God in the highest."? In no other way is God glorified more than in the reconciliation of his elect back to himself though  the work of His son, who destroyed the works of the devil. And what more can the angels sing but, "Peace to those on earth" That is because when Jesus was born, he was the very one who would make peace, between God and man by becoming our peace offering and bearing our sins on the cross reconciling us back to God. And only through faith in Jesus Christ can there ever be true peace on earth between fellow human beings. Through Jesus, the walls of hostility have been broken down and in Christ there is no east or west, or Jew or Gentile, but all are ONE in Him. There was great reason to sing at the first advent of Christ and great reason to rejoice. And we still have great reason to rejoice.

I pray that the Lord would bless you all this Christmas and that you may truly enjoy this holiday for what its really means and not for the word has turned it into. May God grant us all the grace to behold his wondrous and glorious ways, in comprehending the mystery of the incarnation, and all the implications of that great expression of divine love.

Apostolic View of Pentecost

Yesterday I preached one of the most difficult sermons I have ever had to preach. Not so much because the text and subject was hard for me to understand, but because of the sensitivity of the subject for so many believers. One of the main things that was important to me in yesterday's sermon was the importance of understanding the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  What was even more important was to see not my interpretation, but to see the apostolic interpretation. Both at Pentecost and at the home of Cornelius, the Apostle Peter gives an apostolic interpretation of the meaning of the Baptism in the Spirit, and the following occurrence of glossolalia.

1n Acts 2 Peter clearly give the meaning of the event: Acts 2:14-17 “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.."

The significance of Pentecost was that ALL of God's people would receive the Holy Spirit for empowerment of ministry, and the speaking of tongues was visible and dramatic demonstration of this truth, in that different dialects of different people were being heard. This meant that ALL people meant ALL "nations, tribes and tongues". 

In Samaria, when the Gospel was following the path that Jesus had ordained, there was another Pentecostal experience,  again to confirm the inclusion of Samaritans into the Covenant community, and again Peter is sent in to affirm that the Samaritans as well were to be accepted as members of God's covenant community. 

Acts 8:14-17  Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 

After Peter had preached to Cornelius and his home and saw them baptized in the Spirt as well,  he reported back to Jerusalem this amazing event, and again interpreted again the meaning. 

Acts 11:15- 18 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

This was truly amazing! That the Lord gave his Spirit to the Gentiles just like he did the Jews indicating that they were to be included and accepted by the Jewish believers as co-heirs in the gospel! This may not sound like a big deal now, but had tremendous significance at this point in redemption history.

Today we are far past the age where God needs to demonstrate to us visibly who is included and accepted in the Kingdom of God. We are living in a post -Pentecostal time, where ALL believers, no matter their background are baptized in the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion.

As the scripture teaches us, "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit." 1 Cor. 12:13

It is important that we read the bible in its context and let it interpret itself. When we try to interpret the bible based on our own experiences than we are leaning in a direction of subjective hermeneutics that can be very dangerous.

Prophecy

This week, we looked at the gift of prophecy and examined the different approaches to understanding this gift, defining it and asking our selves if this gift indeed is still in operation. My own position leans towards the Wayne Grudem view that prophecy still exists, but is not authoritative or revelatory. God can use it to encourage and exhort his people and it is a gift that bears witness to the Holy Spirit's dwelling in the church. Sadly because of so much abuse and "false prophecy" that has existed in the church, many have disregarded the authenticity or operation of the gift any longer. Sadly we take reactionary positions as a result. This week- I want to open it up to you. What do you think? Are you a cessationist? Are you a continuationist? Or are you a Charismatic? What has your experience taught you? Have you ever seen an authentic prophecy fulfilled? What about bad experiences with false prophecies? I am sure the answers are legion.

While I do believe the gift of prophecy is still in existence I am content to claim the truth of scripture:

Rev. 19:10 For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Should we Expect Miracles?

Yesterday we examined the gift of "working out of miracles" as one of the gifts listed in the "Gifts of the Spirit" in 1 Cor. 12:4-11. One of the things we established and made clear is that miracles are extraordinary and supernatural works of God, that were given as signs and wonders to validate the messengers of God. The only times in history where we see concentrations of miracles is in the ministry of agents of revelation: Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and the Apostles. Other than that miracles are not common or ordinary, but rather, unusual, and extraordinary. Based on that we concluded that when the bible was finished being written, miracles had ceased to occur for the reason that God's special revelation to us is complete. So why are so many people still seeking the miraculous? Because they are not satisfied with the Word of God. They are looking for something more, something tangible and something they can look for and hope in. In desperation people are willing to believe in anything, thus creating a market ripe for the picking. This is not theology 101, but business 101. The phony miracle workers have a lucrative business, because the market demands them. In fact I would argue there is more demand than supply, leaving a deficit in "miracle workers."

I am reminded of what scripture teaches, 2 Tim. 4:3-4 "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."

This describes the demand side of the false miracle business. We are living in that time, where people who are not content with what God has already revealed are looking to believe in anything but the truth. So in a sense, it is the masses of ignorant and unstable people who create these men. But make no mistake about it, that does not excuse the false prophets. They are greedy and see the masses as walking dollar bills. They are evil and cunning and have used the Gospel for their selfish advantage, and exploited the poor and ignorant for their own good. Scripture has much to say about them as well.


2 Pet. 2:2,3 "many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words."

14-15 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 

17-19 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption

One thing is for sure: God is just. These guys will all have to give an account one day for their lies, deception and stealing in the name of Jesus. They have received their reward now, but on Judgment Day, they have a special reservation for them- the gloom of utter darkness. May God have mercy on their souls.

Charismata

In my last two sermons in 1 Corinthians, I have started to examine what was going on in the Corinthian church in relation to the "charismata". The term "charismata", in the original Greek simply means, "grace gifts" and is used in modern Greek to say, "birthday gift". Some changes, but the intent is more or less the same...an undeserved, and unmerited gift from God. Now we know that God in his grace has given us many gifts. The gift of salvation (Eph. 2:8-9), justification (Rom. 5:16), Eternal life (Rom. 6:23) the gift of giving (2 Cor. 9:15) etc. But we are talking specifically here about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are given to the elect for the purpose of building up the church. Eph 4:7 "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift" It is the Holy Spirit who takes that which is Christ's and applies to us making it our own. Therefore, every person who is born again and is given the Holy Spirit has been gifted by the Spirit for some type of ministry, and there is no such thing as the gift of pew warming. When we think of Christians being charismatic, we automatically assume that they must be prophets, speak in tongues or perform miracles, but this is not the case. There are many gifts that the Holy Spirit has bestowed on His church which are not spectacular or supernatural. Thus, if we are to interpret Scripture correctly- all Christians are charismatics. The problem is how we interpret charismatic.We need to take closer look at the scriptures. In Corinth the gifts that were manifested and were emphasized by the Corinthians, Paul makes reference to in 1 Cor. 12:9-11. But that is not an exclusive or exhaustive list. For instance look at Rom. 12:6-8

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;  if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;  the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Did you ever think that serving is a gift? What about the ability contribute to the the finances of the church? Or the what about showing mercy? These are gifts of the spirit as well! They may not be spectacular or illustrious, but for the most part being a Christan is living our day to day lives not on the mountain top experiences of the supernatural highs, but rather on the plateaus and valleys where we live by faith in Christ, and are enabled by the Spirit to minister in every day life.

Too often the charismatic church puts all their emphasis on the spectacular and the extraordinary. But that's not reality. The Christian walk is not a Harry Potter movie. The bible may have records of the miraculous and supernatural, but they do not characterize the majority of biblical history.  A thorough reading of the bible gives us examples of many believers who lived their life day to day in the power of the Spirit and yet these are the men and women have likewise been gifted by the Holy Spirit.

The challenge for all of us is to discover our gifts and put them to use. How do we do that? First we should pray and ask God to show us where he has gifted us to serve. Second- you should ask your pastor or an elder what they think. Often an elder, or pastor will have good insight into a persons gifting. But ultimately, God will confirm it to you as you live out your life and people will actually tell you what your gift is. The real point is that we are exercising our gifts. On judgment day we will all have to give an account for how we used the gifts God has given us. I personally think that the parable of the talents can have application here. To whatever level of gifting you have received is to the level we are responsible.

Luke 12:48 Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

A Righteousness Not Our Own

Not too long ago I was challenged by someone to rethink the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the sinner and consider that the teaching of the active obedience of Christ was simply a result of an antiquated argument. After pondering these ideas for some time it was obvious these were thinly veiled suggestions coming from the popular "New Perspective". For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, don't feel bad. In the academic world of evangelicalism there are some heated debates among Christian scholars that the average lay person would have no clue about. However those academic debates eventually trickle down to the lay persons in one form or another. The debate we are talking about is with New Testament scholar and Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright.  Bishop Wright is a brilliant man and among one of the best New Testament scholars in the church, and has contributed a great deal of good to the church. However he has also reintroduced a teaching that is not sound and can lead to serious problems if left unchallenged.  The teaching commonly refereed to as the "New Perspective of Paul" based on his book- "Paul in Fresh Perspective". Overall Wright argues that evangelicals have misunderstood justification as it was understood by Paul. One of his arguments, among many, is that imputation was merely a product of middle age thought and restricted to just the Reformation mind set. Based on new scholarship of Judaism during the first century, he argues that we now have a "fresh perspective" so to speak, on Paul's view of justification. Here a couple of snippets of his views:


“It is therefore a straightforward category mistake, however venerable within some Reformed traditions including part of my own, to suppose that Jesus ‘obeyed the law’ and so obtained ‘righteousness’ which could be reckoned to those who believe in him. …It is not the ‘righteousness’ of Jesus Christ which is ‘reckoned’ to the believer. It is his death and resurrection.”
—N.T. Wright, Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision, p. 232

Is there then no 'reckoning of righteousness' in, for instance, Romans 5:14-21? Yes, there is; but my case is that this is not God's own righteousness, or Christ's own righteousness, that is reckoned to God's redeemed people, but rather the fresh status of 'covenant member', and/or 'justified sinner', which is accredited to those who are in Christ, who have heard the gospel and responded with 'the obedience of faith'." -N.T. Wright, 10th Edinburgh Dogmatics Conference: 25–28 August 2003, p. 8

In the this weeks sermon I made a clear biblical case for the doctrine of imputation and believe it is as clear as can be. I adamantly reject the New Perspective on the grounds that it leaves many questions unanswered about righteousness, and leaves the door wide open for works righteousness, whereby the believer is credited with a righteousness of their own. I cannot see how it is possible for a believer to merit any good before God. But for anyone who  may doubt, I will not pretend to be a scholar, and instead point you to some of the most formidable theologians and scholars of our day and allow them to dissect Wright's views. Below are a few links that you will find helpful. But a more thorough search will help you find a wealth of resources.

Tom Schreiner's article

More Media from Ligonier Ministries

Media by D.A. Carson

Media by John Piper 

Book- Justification and Variegated Nomism

Happy Studying!

The Proper Observance of the Lord's Supper

What a wonderful occasion the Lord's Supper is for believers to celebrate and remember the work of Christ on the cross. If there is one thing we learned yesterday is that one of the key aspects of the Lord's Supper- is that it is a time to remember. Memorials are important in our life so we never forget life changing and important events in our life and society. As a nation we celebrate the 4th of July as Independence Day, remembering what it took to gain independence as a nation. On Sept. 11 of every year, we take time to remember the tragic loss of lives on 911 when so many people died in the worst attack on our nation. The names are read from Ground Zero every year as a memorial so that the reality of what took place there may remain fresh in people's memory. As married couples we celebrate our wedding anniversary every year usually by going to a special dinner and play, or maybe a vacation  to spend time as a couple reflecting on the genesis of love in one's relationship. In the same way the Lord instituted the Lord's Supper so that the message of the gospel would remain fresh in our minds on a frequent basis. The Lord's Supper brings us back to Calvary and back to where the greatest act of God for mankind ever took place. It was monumental and was a life changing event for all who believe. The Lord's Supper brings us back to the foot of the cross, to see how our sins hung our Lord on that cross to be our vicarious substitute in atoning for our sins. When you begin to consider the importance of the meaning behind the Lord' Supper, we begin to value it as more than just a ritual but a celebration of eternal life.

In a recent article written by CJ Mahaney he writes this, "It is frighteningly easy to lose sight of Calvary. We drift away from the cross, not toward it." What CJ writes demonstrates that our natural tendency is to drift from the cross. What an amazing display of God's grace and wisdom to institute the Lord's Supper to keep the cross fresh in our minds! May we always live our lives close to the cross, and never let go. May we live in the grace of God knowing our sins have been forgiven and humbled by the great price paid for our redemption. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Robbing God

This past Sunday, Pastor Paul Frey delivered a very challenging sermon on the topic of robbing God. His passage was selected from Malachi Chapter 3 and was a thorough examination of what it means to rob God. I have been a Christian now for fifteen years and have heard sermons preached on Mal. 3:8 numerous times. It is a favorite among the prosperity preachers and is commonly used when churches need to raise funds. After hearing so many sermons on the subject it is easy to become desensitized and not really hear any more. Why is this? Because of the sensitive topic of money. Because the church has so abused this passage and so many preachers have conned people out of their money by using such a passage, we tend to have a resistance to such words because of the abuse of many so called Christina.

But can we discount the inspired words of scripture because of those who have misused it? God forbid. That is like saying, lets cease to be moral because so many legalistic people have misused the scriptures to impose their beliefs. Or that is like saying, let's abandon any kind of eschatology because so many teachers have made such outrageous interpretations. No. We cannot and must not take such an approach. The words of Malachi 3 are as strong and as relevant today as they were when Malachi prophesied several centuries before Christ. Listen to the word:

"Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."

The attitude of Malachi's immediate audience is not different today. the attitude they has was that they believed whatever wealth they had was theirs. What they didn't realize is that everything they owned was God's. The same today- when you look at your checking account, do we see it as our money, or the Lord's money? Depending on your perspective and attitude, will determine whether or not the charge of robbing God sticks or not. If indeed our resources are God's, than we are indeed robbing him, by failing to obey him and give back to him a portion of what has been given us. If it is ours, God has no claim.Recently my daughter has learned the word "mine". In our daily learning lessons, Rachel will sometimes defy me and grab something in the house and say "mine!" To which I usually respond, "No honey, everything is mine. You are just borrowing this from me." Sadly many of us act like 2 year old children when it come to money and scream "Mine!"

In 1 Chron. 29:12-14 David prays a prayer of blessing upon the plans to build a temple in God's honor. in light of the contributions the Israelites made to the Temple fund, David prays like this:

"Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. 14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you."

David clearly knew that anything he had to give to God was from God to begin with. We have nothing to offer God. We are bankrupt sinners who deserve nothing but God's judgment. Only by His grace we have anything good to offer him. And only by His grace are we able to work and earn a living. Therefore if God has been so gracious (generous) to us, how can we be cheap with him and rob him? The tithe was an OT principle for maintaining the priesthood. We no longer are under the OT jurisdiction, but that does not lessen our responsibility but rather it heightens our responsibility. The entire sermon on the Mount was preached by Christ, not to lessen the teachings of the Law, but to demonstrate the greater meaning and how much more is required to be "righteousness". God showed his grace towards us in the ultimate way by "Not sparing his only Son..And graciously gives us all things" Rom. 8:33, then we, out of humble gratitude, ought to give God our very best. Robbing God is not just about money, but we rob can rob God in our time, our gifts, our worship, our love, our honor and obedience. The eighth commandment forbids stealing from our fellow man. How much worse of a crime is it when we rob from God! The lesson is clear- After God has shown so much grace, we should be constrained with great love to honor God with the first fruits of our wealth. Then the windows of heaven will pour out a blessing, till there is not need. You cannot out give God, he has abundantly more than you or I can ever offer him!

All Things to the Glory of God

After ending a long season on the topic of "eating meat sacrificed to idols", the scripture left us on a high note, instructing us on the importance of doing all things to the glory of God. I find that in life our attitudes and action are either going to glorify God or not. If our attitudes and actions do not glorify God they are either bringing glory to self, or they bringing glory to satan. Immediately one would protest, "But isn't that too dogmatic? Aren't there some things that are just neutral?" On the surface it appears that some actions in life can be purely neutral, like watching a movie, or playing golf. But what is a neutral action? Is there such a thing? Every decision we make in life is driven by some particular inward disposition. For example if I do choose to watch a movie, I am going to choose a genre that I like. If my wife brings home a chic-flic with Julia Roberts, more than likely I will cozy up to a good book instead. The point here is that we do what we like, and we don't do what we don't like. Therefore nothing is done from a neutral disposition. That is why Paul used such insignificant and mundane examples like food and drink. Even what we eat and drink- as unimportant as it appears, has a motivating force behind it.

The question we must begin to ask our selves is "What is motivating us when we make certain decision, or take certain attitudes?" Are we motivated by a love for God and a strong desire to bring him glory? And if not, why? Perhaps we are seeking the glory of another? Perhaps ourselves? If scripture commands us to premeditate on what we eat and drink so as to bring glory to God, what parts of our life are outside the realm of being lived to His glory? Nothing. Every part of our life should be lived with a single minded purpose to glorify God, to honor Him, and make Him look great! The only way this is possible is if we are born again. We must be regenerated and given a new heart with new desires if we are going to live a life that is motivated by giving glory to God. Because only a regenerate heart can have such a radical approach to life. That is because when God give us a new heart, we now delight in bringing glory to God and desire to make much of Him. Therefore eating, drinking, and doing whatever to the glory of God is not a burden but a delight.

So many Christians ,I believe, deceive themselves into thinking that there are areas of life that are neutral, and neither bring glory to God nor bring reproach to the Lord. In my own life recently I have had a startling revelation. I was obsessed with politics and was for all intents and purposes a "news junky". However one day the Holy Spirit brought great conviction upon me. I asked myself, "How is my obsession with politics bringing glory to God?"What I realized is that politics was just another seductive distraction the world has produced to make me lose focus on my main purpose in life. By God's grace, I rarely watch the news anymore, and take no pleasure in it. The longer I am a Christian, I find myself takign no pleasure in doing vain things, and finding great passion and joy in doing those thigns that are most glorifying to God!  The point here is we may need to do a personal inventory and begin to question our motives in our favorite hobbies and activities. We may need to get on our knees and ask God to reveal to us if there is anything in our lives that is NOT gloriying to him, and we may be surprised what the Holy Spirt may reveal. When praying lke this mediate on Ps. 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting!" 

If we are honest with ourselves, and open to the Spirits leading, we may find out that our lives may need some rearranging or at the very least a new attitude about the activities we engage in. In the end, our main goal- To God be the Glory!

How to Know a False Prophet?

My journey in the faith has taken me through some interesting places. When I first was saved, my first worship experience took me to hyper charismatic church which was at best, sorely off track.The gospel was preached and the pastor used the expository method, however the service was frequently interrupted by holy laughter and other strange phenomenon. Perhaps the worst experience was one night at a home bible study watching a woman run around in a fit of hysteria, screaming and yelling with her face red, and foaming at the mouth. As I watched in horror I asked one of the attendees what was happening and she exclaimed, "Sister so and so is experiencing a filling of the Holy Spirit" Immediately my 19 year old mind discerned that something was radically wrong. I wasn't much of a bible scholar, but I discerned the hysterical woman was NOT filled with the Holy Spirit. I soon left that church and made my journey through several Pentecostal churches over a five year period until ultimately, my skepticism of all the so called supernatural manifestations had been shored up by my studies in the Word of God.  I then found myself worshipping at a sound Baptist church learning and growing in the grace and knowledge of God without being sidetracked by the shenanigans of emotionally driven churches without much substance.

To avoid the pitfall of spiritual pride, I confess it was not my ingenuity that led me away from that system of Christianity, but rather it was the Holy Spirit (ironically) that instructed me in the teaching of scripture and enabled me to discern the difference between false doctrine and sound doctrine. While I believe most of the bothers and sisters I worshipped with in the past were genuine believers, I believe their understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit was seriously skewed and were not as discerning as they should have been. This is the case with many believers. We take everything we see and hear that comes across as supernatural and of divine origin. Such spiritual gullibility is nothing to be proud of. The bible exhorts us to "Not believe every spirit, but test the spirits" 1 John 4:1, and that means that we need to be discerning. It would be dangerous naivety to simply accept everything we see or hear in a church as fro God, and disregard the countless warnings in scripture regarding how many false prophets have crept into the church, sent as emissaries of Satan. Which spirit are we listening to? Are we listening to the spirit of Antichrist or the Spirit of God?

When I was a young believer, my ability to discern spirits was very primitive. It took time of studying all of God;s Word before I could rightfully discern truth from error. Studying the Word takes discipline and hard work, which many people want to forgo out of spiritual laziness. Perhaps one of the reasons why False doctrine is on the rise is because Bible illiteracy is also on the rise. As people are more illiterate in the Word of God the more they will be susceptible to the doctrine of demons. Listen to the exhortation that Paul gives to Jewish Christians in the book of Hebrews:

vv. 11- 14 "about this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

There are many Christians who have been saved for quite some time and should be teachers at this point, but instead have to be retrained in the elementary teachings of the gospel. The message here is "Grow up! " How?   2 Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

I trust this weeks message and article will encourage all who read to seek to grow more in the knowledge of God and thus be able to discern truth from error. So that we as mature believers may be able to have a bolder witness to the world around us that does not know Jesus Christ.

Can Jesus be Trusted?

It was good to be back in the pulpit this past Sunday. We are so blessed to have had time together as a family and refresh ourselves in the Lord. I am especially thankful for the support and ministry of Grace and Truth Church which has been an extraordinary blessing in our lives.

This past week we went back to basics with a gospel message from John 14:1-6. I had it on my heart to preach this message for 2 reasons- 1) For visitors and newcomers to really grasp what the Gospel is, and 2) For mature believers to be refreshed with the simplicity of the pure gospel. In my sermon I tackled two topics. In my message I dealt with the reality of Heaven. Jesus promised he goes to prepare a place for those who believe in Him, and that he would not tell us this if it were not true. Can Jesus be trusted? As Christians we are convinced that Jesus can be trusted or we would not be Christians at all. To trust in Christ and take him at his word is what saving faith is. We live by faith and not by sight, scripture says, and to live by faith is to order our lives based on the authority of God's word. Not only does Jesus teach us there is a Heaven but that there is also a Hell.  In Jesus public ministry he spoke more of Hell than he did about Heaven. What is Hell? Jesus used the term Gehenna to identify the place we call Hell. Gehenna was an incineration dump outside the city of Jerusalem where people basically burned their garbage, and where the refuse of sacrifices where burned. Unlike modern times where we have garbage pickups at our front curb, people had to burn their garbage in the ancient world. Gehenna had a perpetually burning fire and a stench that was absolutely disgusting. This was the metaphor Jesus used to describe what Hell will be like. Just like the garbage of Jerusalem was burned up and destroyed so not to pollute the land, every sinner who does not believe in Christ and does not have their sins atoned for, will be thrown into the "Lake of Fire" so not to pollute the New Heavens and New Earth. The bible says in Rev. 21:8 "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The idea of a "Second Death" is terrifying to say the least. But this implies that there is something far worse than physical death in store for those who reject Jesus. That is eternal death. And Our Lord was quite specific in warning us against Hell, Matt. 18:8-9 "And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire."

This is because our sins are so detestable and offensive to the holiness of God, it is the equivalent of taking the putrefied trash and bring it into the most elegant palace. Hab. 1:13 says "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong" and in Ps. 5:4 "For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you." As I said on Sunday the Tabernacle in the wilderness was built after the pattern of Heaven (Heb. 8:5). All things unclean and detestable were not be found in the camp of the Lord, because his presence was there and therefore it was a holy place. In the same way Heaven is God's dwelling place and there can be no unclean or detestable thing there to defile his presence. Rev. 21:  27 "But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life."

This is why there is no other way into Heaven accept through Jesus Christ. That is because nothing can cleanse away our sins, accept the blood of Jesus. Nothing can make us fit for Heaven except the sacrifice of his life on the cross, in our place. If we reject him, we reject Heaven.


Can Jesus be trusted? I am not a gambling man. But if I was, I would say there is too much at stake to bet against Him. My hope is that whoever is reading this article will trust Him too.

On Sabbatical

I know some out there keep up with the blog, however I will be taking a sabbatical from preaching until Sept. 19. By newborn Elizabeth came into the world this past Wed. Aug. 11 and I will be spending time with my family and helping my wife to recuperate.


We appreciate your prayers,

Bob

Running the Race to Win

1 Cor. 9:24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it."

We are in the race of a lifetime, and the finish line will usher us either into heaven or hell. In order to finish this race we must be trained, disciplined and ready to meet the obstacles and challenges set forth before us. If we are not disciplined, we may be disqualified and lose the race. There is an interesting lesson here. Although we believe in the sovereign grace of God in salvation, and sanctification; and although we know we go to heaven because of the finished work of Christ and nothing we do...yet it seems as if scripture is teaching to some degree that we must make an effort. While it seems paradoxical, that we can at once be saved entirely by God's grace and yet at the same time are commanded to make an effort it is not. In Phil. 2:12-13 "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." Here we see how at once we are commanded to work out our salvation and at the same time realize it is God who is work in us. Recognizing that God is at work in us does not in any way negate the responsibility we have to work out our salvation, run the race and make every effort in our Christian development. The best illustration I have heard used is one of the farmer. In order to produce a crop, the farmer depends on the sun and the rain to yield any fruits. This is God's responsibility. However he must still sow seeds, till the soil and care for the crop. This is the farmers responsibility. God gives the rain and sun which the farmer cannot give and the farmer sows the seed and tills the land which God does not do. Through this cooperation, the farm yields a harvest. In the same way God had given us everything necessary for living a sanctified life though his Holy Spirit. The bible says in 2 Pet. 1:3 "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness" It's already there. We have all we need to live a godly life, now its up to us to harness the power of God within. The Arminian argues we are free moral agents and can choose God or not. But that is impossible without the divine aid of the Holy Spirit through regeneration. But once we are converted and the Holy Spirit has sealed us, than we are truly free. We are free in Christ and now have the ability to obey God and run the race set before us.

My sermon Sunday was a challenging one- even to myself. But I know "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Don't live in defeat brothers and sisters, but live in accordance with the victory won for us by Christ and trust that he is able to help you run this race by his divine power. See you at the finish line.

The Laborer is Worthy of His Wages

James 5:4-5 "Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter."

One of the most sensitive subjects in Christianity and one of the most convicting for us as American Christians, is the subject of money. That is because money is so tied into the fabric of our culture. We are a capitalist nation. Working heard to earn money and spend it on what we choose is the basis of a consumer driven market and in large part has contributed to us living in one of the most prosperous societies in history. However...Can living in such a prosperous society actually be a curse? Often we think that materiel prosperity translates into God's blessings. But when a nation is very prosperous it can be the opposite. People begin more and more to love money and commit the sin of idolatry with that wretched god, mammon.

The text I quoted above from James is written to those who are wealthy. Maybes some of you reading this think, that doesn't  apply to me, I am poor. Maybe relative to the top 5% of wealthy Americans you are. But compared to 75% of the human population, you are rich. That is because 75% of the human population lives in abject poverty (They do not have a house, bathroom, clothing, food, medical service etc.) We have it pretty good.  In the text quoted we also have a scenario where the wealthy are withholding pay to those who labor in the fields. This can be understood in a literal sense, but I have always thought of this in regards to those who labor in the gospel. Why? Because the bible uses this metaphor in relationship to gospel ministry. Matt. 9:37 "Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” And in 1 Cor. 9:10 "It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop." Those laborers are clearly those engaged in the gospel ministry gathering God's elect. What I see here is a rebuke by James to those wealthy Christians holding back on supporting those who served in the ministry, and I also believe this rebuke carries over today. I think of pastors in foreign countries who live in shacks and huts barely able to feed their families. I also think of pastors in the United States. With the exception of the few pastors who have large ministries that have a lot of money, most pastors receive an income way below the standard salary of a professional according to today's standards, and most pastors are unable to support their families forcing their wives to work to supplement the income. Sadly the rights of a minister are not highly regarded by many church goers in our country. And is a sad commentary of western Christianity. 


This is why James gives such a strong warning, it is a warning of those who live luxuriously at the expense of shortchanging those who labor in the gospel. This is where prosperity can be a curse. Ironically,  it is a lot easier to be generous when we have little, but when we have a lot it is more difficult. People become dependent and feel secure with their wealth and are afraid to depart with their money. James likens such people to cattle which are fattened to be slaughtered, giving a vivid depiction of divine judgment on such indulgent attitudes. This was the case with Sodom and Gomorrah. While we often think God judged them because of their sexual immorality, it was not the only reason. In fact it was just a symptom of a greater problem. The problem of overindulgence due to prosperity. We read in Ezekiel 16:49-51 "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it"

I wonder sometime if our prosperity in America is not so much God's blessing, but God's curse. Maybe he is  fattening us up for the slaughter. Well I am not a prophet nor a son of a prophet, but one thing I am is a person who can perceive. And I perceive as a society we have become very self indulgent and very greedy. May God have mercy on us. I am especially grieved when recent surveys indicate giving has gone down significantly in churches and the average person gives less than 5% of their income to their local church. Even recently due to shortages in the SBC, many missionaries have a cut in funding this year. How can such a thing happen in a nation where we have so much abundance? This is truly sad and truly sinful. God will hold us accountable on Judgment Day for how responsible we were with his money and if we we haven't been generous towards his Kingdom. It will do us all good to pay attention to the teaching of the Lord on this matter:

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”  Luke 12: 15-21

Dealing with Matters of Conscience

While eating food sacrificed to idols may not be an issue for modern Christians we are faced with many other issues that would fall under the category of : Matter of Conscience. I often get questions like this and it can become challenging jumping theological hurdles in dealing with issues striking that proper balance in not presenting a stumbling block and at the same time not imposing a man made rule or regulation on someone. I decided to post a few examples of questions that I have received recently and over the years to help demonstrate how we can apply the principles of 1 Cor. 8 and also add another strategy in dealing with these issues.

As I outline some of these, let me preface by saying that there are issues that are clearly dealt with in  Scripture. When someone come to me and asks is it okay to engage in pre-marital sex? - the answer is obviously no, and that is a matter of fact. However there are issues that are not so clear in Scripture and must be given more thought.

Sabbath Observance: Romans Chapter 14 is the main passage along with 1 Corinthians 8 dealing with issues of conscience. In Rom. 14, Paul deals with the issue of Sabbath observance. In the new church made up of both Jewish and Gentile converts there was definitely a difference on this issue. Jews were still no doubt beholden to the Law, and with a weak conscience felt obligated to observe the (Saturday) Sabbath. But Gentiles on the other hand felt no such obligation. To them "all days were alike" and their conscience was free from guilt in non- sabbath observance. However it is important to note that the early church had already established a tradition of meeting on the first day of the week for corporate worship in accordance with Jesus resurrection. But this was not the same as the Jewish Sabbath. This is one major issue of debate amongst sincere believers today. Is Sunday the Christian Sabbath? I would say no. There is no explicit teaching in the NT that states that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday nor that the observances of the Sabbath was to be maintained by the church. While opponents may argue that Sabbath observance is instituted at creation and ratified in the Ten Commandments, I would argue that the "Saturday' Sabbath was instituted to point to the "rest" we enter, when we come to faith in Christ. (Col. 2:16-17, Heb 4:9) But the point here is this- If someone believes that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath and to go out to eat or do business on Sunday is a sin, I will not argue with them- because I do not want to cause them to violate their conscience and cause a weaker brother to stumble. At the same token- I think those who do hold those views should not seek to impose their beliefs on those who do  not agree. As scripture says: "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord." Rom. 14:5-6 As with other issues- this is a matter of conscience.

Alcoholic Beverages: During the industrial revolution in the United States, many churches bought into what is called "cultural holiness." Which simply is a form of legalism in response to cultural trends. When the industrial revolution took place, most men worked out of the house long hours and spent a great deal of time drinking. Consequently business production was weakened, domestic violence increased and crime also was on the rise. The culprit was drunkenness. The response by many Evangelical churches was to completely renounce all forms of drinking as utterly sinful and teach and preach total abstinence. Ever since the prohibition activists were successful in completely condemning the usage of all alcoholic beverages, there has always been a strong position of this maintained in many churches. Such a response was a radical approach to dealing with a larger social problem. The reality is- the bible does not teach total abstinence of alcoholic beverages. In fact everyone in the bible probably drank alcoholic beverages on a daily basis. Why? Prior to modern times, pure water was hard to come by- and the drink of choice was wine. Even in Europe during the middle ages and in early America, beer was a common drink. Why? Once again- pure water was hard to come by. Try to push total abstinence on people in those times and there would not be much to drink. Even in some parts of the world today people still drink wine with their meals as part of a culture, and they are not drunkards. I heard of one story where a group of Evangelicals from America took a trip to Israel. While on tour they celebrated the Lord's Supper at the empty tomb where Jesus was supposedly laid. When some in the group found out that real wine was being served they protested and refused to celebrate communion believing it to be a sin to use wine in the Lord's Supper. Last I checked the bible says Jesus used wine, not grape juice. See how silly? The problem is not drinking- but drunkenness. The bible condemns drunkenness because it take control over someones life and places people into bondage. Eph. 5:18 "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit," which means we are to be controlled by the Spirit and not by alcohol. However once again, if someone has a weak conscience and drinking alcohol can lead them into irreparable sin - Like Paul said... I will never "eat meat again". Just fill in the blank, "If doing something hurts my brother, I will never (               ) again."

I have been asked many questions about what is sinful and what is not. I have been asked if things like are sinful like, martial arts, tattoos, clothing, music, entertainment, dancing, playing cards, video games, certain career choices, eating blood sausage, eating pork, eating shrimp, etc. etc.  Because not everything is clear in scripture as to what is sinful and there are "gray" areas there is a strategy we can use in helping us form our convictions and thereby live accordingly to our own conscience. Each one of us must listen to our own conscience after careful study of scripture and not be told by anyone else what to do. Rom. 14:22-23 "The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin."

1) Rom. 14:7-8 "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. "  What is our motive? It is what is motivating us in our heart. At the root of everything we can determine why we are doing or not doing something. The most important question must be- is our motivation to honor God? Life is not ours to live but belongs to Christ. We were bought by a price and ultimately we must determine whether or not our conduct is pleasing to him.

2) 1 Cor. 6:12 Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. Is what I am doing helpful to me spiritually, physically, mentally? Is it edifying? Or is going to draw me away from serving God?

3) 1 Cor. 6:12 Everything is permissible but I will not be mastered by anything. Is what I am doing going to bring me under bondage? (Years ago I bought a Sony PlayStation. After finding myself addicted to it and playing it for hours a day- I quickly gave it up realizing it was not doing me any good and was mastering my affections.)

4) 1 Cor. 8:13- If eating meat cause my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again. Is what I am doing hurtful to others? Is it going to offend a brother or sister in Christ and cause them to sin? We must be careful we do not exercise our liberty to someone else's hurt.

5) 1 Cor. 10:31 "Do all to the glory of God" Does what I do glorify God? In other words does what I do bring attention to the greatness and person of God? Is what I am doing reflecting God to those around me?

These are good ways to guide our conduct and help us to make wise choices in areas of conscience. Do you have anything that you are wondering about? Is there a matter which you are unsure of?

I would like to hear your comments. Please post any questions on matters of conscience you may have.

Free to Serve God in our Vocation

In last weeks sermon we looked at one of the reformed principles of the Doctrine of Vocation. Here we have the underlying principle that whatever out lot is in life, God has called us to be there to serve him and glorify him in that vocation. Vocation can mean serving God full-time in ministry and also means those who serve God as secretaries, custodians, doctors, lawyers, stay at home moms and students all have a unique and wonderful opportunity to serve God where ever he has called us. The importance of this doctrine is that it adds dignity and honor to whatever we do in life. Society makes distinctions placing some vocations as more dignified than others.Culture can create an attitude of disdain towards certain vocations which leads to a poor attitude in general. Let me give and  an example:

Often times when you go to a fast food restaurant you will find disgruntled employees who are slack in their job and treat their customers poorly. This is based on an attitude cultivated by a society that places different degrees of dignity on certain vocations. For a Christian who may be placed in that position for whatever reason, should see this not so much as a low wage job with no dignity but rather as an opportunity to serve God in that particular place and glorify him in that calling. (By the way- the silver lining in a bad economy is that people do their jobs a whole lot better. I notice since the unemployment rates have risen- customer service has improved drastically in many places. People want to keep their jobs now!)

 This is reflected in Col. 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." The bible makes it explicitly clear that what ever we do, we are ultimately serving Christ.That means whether we are flipping burgers in a fast food restaurant or working as a professional, we must see our vocation as service to the Lord. If we see things like that it adds dignity to whatever we do, it makes us enjoy our jobs more and ultimately we become a "mask of God" in whatever setting we are in- being a light for the gospel.

 This doesn't mean we shouldn't seek to improve our situation. Paul encouraged slaves to obtain their freedom if possible. If we can improve our situation we should by all means do so, but our attitudes need to be right. We must see that even if we do seek to improve our situation in life either by getting an education or professional training, it should be with the intention of having a better opportunity to glorify God. After all we need more godly lawyers who will remain honest and truthful in their practice. We need doctors who genuinely career for their patients and are not in the practice just for a buck. We live in a country where opportunity abounds. But we should see everything in life as a calling from God to serve him regardless of the circumstances. And that is dignified no matter what the circumstances.

The overarching theme in 1 Cor. 7 is the issue of whether to remain single or married. Both are vocations and both have dignity. So we can serve and glorify God in either calling. But there is a special opportunity for single people to serve God unhindered by the responsibilities of family life. I would encourage singles as I do often- don't waste your singleness. Use whatever resources and time you have for the Kingdom of God. The more you invest in the Kingdom the more you will reap in eternity. Keep that in mind. This world is passing away and the time is very short. Eternity is forever- therefore make you home there.

Remaining Committed in Our Marriages in an Age of Easy Divorce

I must confess, that last Sunday's sermon was not an easy one to preach. First of all the text itself poses its own difficulties and then on top of that there is the added dimension that there are so many circumstances that are not addressed in scripture. That leaves a pastor with the responsibility to interpret what God has revealed and apply it to a variety of circumstances. Obviously not easy. Gordon Fee in his commentary on 1 Corinthians notes: "This issue is so complex, and the individual cases so diverse, that this text with its singular focus on maintaining mixed marriages does not offer much help"

On the subject of divorce and remarriage there is plenty of debate to go around even among the best of preachers, theologians and scholars, and subsequently lay believers. So we must realize we are treading on ground where there is not unanimous assent. There are some things we do agree on; and that is that marriage is a lifelong sacred bond between man and woman, instituted by God,  and is to be treated with reverence (Heb. 13:4) by all. It is a commitment that 2 people make to  each other that reflects the love and commitment of God for his people. There is unanimous agreement that God hates divorce (Mal. 2:16). So the question remains, "Is it lawful to get a divorce?"

In my sermon I treated 1 Cor. 7:10-12 and Mark 10:2-9 as dealing with 2 believing people. I would like clarify something. I would not say this refers exclusively to 2 believers but rather 2 people who are equally yoked as opposed to unequally yoked which was referred to in 13-16. So that can also refer to 2 unbelievers, since marriage is honorable among all. Therefore I believe that the scriptures teaches that apart from adultery, there are no legitimate grounds for divorce whether they are 2 nonbelievers or believers. This would be consistent with Deut. 24:1. (I believe that the "indecency" is a reference to sexual immorality.) Therefore the marriage would be binding in God's eyes until one of the spouses dies. But there are caveats. What if you have divorced for some reason other than adultery and your ex-spouse, remarries. Is their marriage legitimate in God's eyes? Does that free the remaining spouse to remarry? A closer look at Deut. 24 reveals some answers. vs. 2-4 says, "...and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance." It seems to me at least, that the woman who was divorced, and then remarried is no longer a consideration for reconciliation, even after her second husband dies. Apparently she is defiled, and to remarry would bring defilement on the land of Israel. This seem a bit complicated, being that Christ teaches that whoever remarries after divorce is guilty of adultery, signaling that the bond from the original marriage is binding, however reconciliation has been ruled out as an option, leaving the innocent party with 2 options- remarry or remain single. This is where disagreement lies. I have heard several arguments in favor of both.

In the end these are issue that can be debated but not divided over. However we can learn some important lessons- 1) That a Christian should not initiate a divorce unless there is a violation of sexual fidelity. Whether a mixed marriage or not, we ought to work hard at maintaining our marriages even in trying circumstances. And we should do our best to discourage divorce in the church and in our families. When we see married couples in trouble, we ought to do everything to help them reconcile. 2) We need to be more understanding of those who have already divorced and remarried. Too often those who are divorced are treated with disdain, and that should not be the case. It is not the unpardonable sin and certainly we have committed sins that are offensive to God as well. Instead we must have an attitude of forgiveness and humility to recognize that apart from God's grace we could be in a worse situation.

A balanced approach should be taken as individuals with a respect towards those with different views. If we take such an approach we will have a more sanctified view of the subject and be more charitable towards each other.

Greatness in Serving

In our last sermon we examined the teaching of Jesus on true greatness. True greatness, as Jesus said, was not based on being served but on serving others. Serving others is not something that comes easy. Even though we have the Holy Spirit and have been given the mind of Christ, we still have sinful tendencies in us that inspire us to want to be served. By nature we are selfish and self serving people. But Christ has set us free from living under the domination of our sinful nature. If we are going to serve others and "be the slaves of all" we must first die to ourselves. When the apostle Paul gathered the Ephesian elders to wish them farewell before he journeyed to Jerusalem he exhorted them and testified of his own ministry. In testifying of his own ministry he explained to them that the Holy Spirit has testified to him that he was going to face imprisonment. What was his response to this?

"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."Acts 20:24

This sounds bizarre and self deprecating. Paul does not value his life? Isn't life a gift from God? What Paul meant was that he "didn't count his life dear to himself" He knew that wasn't living for himself, but for God. Saul of Tarsus had died. Life had new meaning now for Paul. It had meaning and purpose in regards to living for God. So how did Paul's life manifest itself? As we read further in the text, we see Paul recount and describe his ministry..


33-35  I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”


Wow. Not only was Paul a faithful minister of the gospel, but he worked with his own hands and labored to "help the weak". Why? Because he was mindful of the teaching of Jesus, "It is better to give than receive" which is Paul's way of articulating, "But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all."Mark 10:44

The only way we can truly serve others with a joyful heart and give of ourselves freely is if we have died to ourselves and do not count our lives as dear to ourselves. This is the only way we can truly be great in the Kingdom of God. Jesus put it another way, "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him." John 12:25-26

Serving Christ, Serving others = reward of eternal life and being found honorable in the sight of the Father.

Signing off..

The Gift of Marriage

In this weeks sermon we looked at a very explicit passage in the scripture which teaches how sexual intercourse is to be enjoyed, celebrated and pursued in the context of marriage. It is a wonderful blessing that two people enjoy and is a genuine gift of God. As we ended the sermon we looked at how single people should approach marriage. The question was to marry or not to marry. Certainly remaining single has advantages in that one is completely free to serve God in the ministry. But for most people, remaining single is not an option. God's word states:

1 Cor. 7:9 "But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion."

Today in many Christian families and circles, we are discouraging young people from marrying, and instead encouraging them to go to college and get and education. There is nothing wrong with this and I will certainly encourage my daughter to do the same thing when she is of age. But one thing I find a problem is when young people are burning with passion, and then discouraged form being married. Now certainly it is not the best reason to marry, but nevertheless, it is a command of scripture. The problem with many young adults is that the temptations to sin sexually abound. Besides their biological urges, they are bombarded from every angle. College life is notorious for sexually charged environments.  From spring break to the dorm life, it can be very different for young believers to remain pure in light of such temptations. At the work place and in general there is a great pressure to cave in. So the question is, "Would we rather have young Christian adults are who defiled sexually but are on the fast track to an education? Or have young Christian adults who may have the slow track to an education but be morally pure?

If we are serious about God's word, than we are more concerned about what scripture says than what society mandates. It is better marry than to burn. That is because the bible makes so clear that no sexually immoral person will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Now I am referring to extreme circumstances. The ideal thing is to have young Christians who can go to school and get a career and wait to get married afterwards. But if they cannot why hinder them.

I write this article in light of the reality of what a low view of marriage we have in our society today. And that low view has trickled into the church. On the other hand society has a very liberal view towards sexuality and that likewise has trickled into the church. This is where we as Christians must take a stand and go against the grain of society and trust and obey God's word. God is more concerned  with his peoples holiness than he is about what degree they hold. He is more concerned with family life that exalts him than he is about a secular career. And he is more concerned with his people enjoying the gift of sex within its proper context, than the fleeting pleasures of sexual immorality.

For those people who are single- If you can remain single and pure- Praise God!! But if you cannot- it is better to marry. But know this- marry in the Lord. Many people have made a shipwreck of their faith by entering into an unequally yoked marriage. They may have satisfied their carnal cravings, but at the cost of a lifetime of grief. What a blessing when a Christan man and Christian woman marry each other and enjoy the gift of sexual intercourse to the glory of God!

The Sacred Body

The 1960's brought us the Beatles, the hippy movement and sexual liberation. In the name of love and peace, many young people part of the counterculture movement of the 60's indulged themselves in sexual immorality rejecting the notion of fornication being a sin, because they had rejected all forms of authority and moral norms. Some have lived though it and some, like myself, are the children of that generation. But we do not have to look back tot he 1960's to look for evidence of a sexually charged culture. Right now in our day, sexual immorality is at a high point. According to recent data, because of the information available to young children through technology, they are beginning to "experiment" with sex as young as seven and eight years old and inventing new forms of immorality through things like "sexting". Forget about premarital sex, and living together- that's old school- the new thing is to be homosexuality. Pop culture icons like Lady Gaga, Brittney Spears, Adam Lambert, and even  now Miley Cirus (Yes Hannah Montana, the cute show on Disney that you let your little girls watch) have promoted and openly participate in the gay lifestyle. Is this freedom?

No- This is bondage. At least that is what scripture teaches us. This is bondage to our passions and lust, allowing every impulse of our flesh to control and dominate our thoughts actions and beliefs. The bible says we have been set free from sin as believers. Yet there seems to be an epidemic even in churches these days with professing Christians engaging in immoral activity.Whether is an addiction to pornography, or extramarital affairs, or people living together outside of marriage, or member of our youth group "experimenting" with homosexuality, our churches are not immune. So how do we respond? Some have made the argument the Corinthians made, "Food is for the belly, the belly for food" implying that sexual activity is as natural as eating and we should just simply accept it. But I like the way Rick Warren responded to such a suggestion by Ann Curry about 2 years ago on 20/20. This is not verbatim, but here it goes, Ann, "Rick, how can you say that homosexuality is a sin, when there  seems to be evidence that some people are naturally inclined toward the same sex? Isn't it true some people are born gay?" Warren, "Yeah, some people may be born with a disposition towards homosexuality. And some people may be born with a greater disposition to be angry and violent people. And some like myself were born with a natural disposition to sleep with every women I see....That is because we are all born sinners. And it is our natural inclination to want to sin against God." "Sin can manifest itself in many different ways. Just because I was born with a natural disposition to have sex with every women I see doesn't mean it's right. No. I am restrained by the law of God that forbids me and am faithful to my wife."

People have been making excuses to live immorally since ancient times. Freud didn';t give us anything new, just repackaged. We have a natural tendency towards sex because God created us with that. But in our sinful nature we have perverted it through unlawful desires. Fulfilling those desires is not the path to freedom, but to bondage. God created sex to be enjoyed in its fullest sense in marriage. Any departure from that is a perversion of sex's natural purpose.

If you are a Christian you have the Spirit of god living in you and that makes your body holy before God. Are bodies are not to be used for sexual immorality but for God.(1 Cor. 6:18-21). It is put another way in 1 Thess. 4:3-5 "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body  in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God"

If we profess to know God and our bodies have been consecrated by  the indwelling presence of the holy spirit than we are to yield to the control of the Spirit, not the flesh. Rom. 8:13 "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." 

In fact the NT teaches us that "sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints." Eph 5:3.

As Paul said in 1 Cor. 6:11, "Such were some of you, but you have been washed, you have been sanctified, you have been justified." If we have experience the grace of God than we are no longer to live like the world. We are no longer driven by our natural passions, but driven by the Spirit of God. The "natural world" is passing away and under God's judgement (Rom.1:18, 1 John 2:17) but the Kingdom of God is everlasting. We who belong to the Kingdom have no business engaging in sexual impurity and can expect "not to inherit the Kingdom" if we practice such things.

Maybe you are tangled up in sexual sin. Maybe you know someone that is. No matter who it is- Flee Sexual Immorality!!! Run Like Hell!!!!! Don't give in, don't give up and don't quit. God's grace is able to renew you, forgive you and set you free- but you have to surrender and repent, or else you will be a slave to your passions forever.

The Ultimate Deception

The ultimate deception was clearly described to us in 1 Cor. 6:9-11 this past Sunday. That deception is that someone can be a born again Christian and continue to live a life of sin, and think they will still go to heaven. The most horrifying aspect is that t he person who deceived doesn't know they are. In my many years as a Christians, God's grace has often been argued as the basis for excusing sin to me by those who are living a sinful lifestyle. And this seems to be the appeal that most wayward Christians use. But what does Scripture say regarding the grace of God? In Rom. 6:1-2 Paul actually uses that same argument and analyzes it.

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"

Here we have a classic example where someone would say, the more I sin- the more God's grace abounds. Is that then a basis and license to continue in sin? The force of the Greek is more powerful then the English. But the phrase in Greek  Me ginomai  literally means- May it never come to pass in the least bit! The idea is clear- There is never an occasion in which we can excuse sin with God's grace. To do so is actually to blaspheme and make a mockery of God. The reality is, "How can we who died to sin continue to live in sin?

We die to sin by our union to Christ through faith. Because Christ died to sin and died for sin, by faith we have also died to the sin principle no longer being under its dominion. Although many times it will rear its ugly head in our lives, we are no longer a salve of sin but have been set free from sin.
 Whenever we tell ourselves we can sin and claim the grace of God, we are lying to ourselves and doing ourselves great harm. How can we over come this tendency to deceive ourselves?

We need to overcome lies with the truth. One time I heard a man say, "instead of listening to ourselves we need to preach to ourselves." Often we deceive ourselves by listening to our flesh and listening to the lies. When those time come we need to instead walk in the spirit, and preach to ourselves. Preach?Yes! Preach! the only way we can over come a lie is with the truth!

The reality is- grace is to lead us to humble repentance not continual and brazen sin. One such example of man who was transformed and humbled by God's grace was John Newton. John Newton was a brute of a man in the slave trading industry in the 1700's. One night when there was a storm his ship almost sunk. While it was filling with water he called out to God to rescue him, and God showed grace. As a result Newton came to faith in Christ and was transformed into a new man. He immediately gave up slave trading and dedicated his life to ministry. Several years later he would be a tremendous influence on a man called William Wilberforce. Wilberforce a member of the English Parliament would spearhead and champion legislation to abolish slavery in Great Britain. That's what grace does. It changes lives. It changed the life of Newton. The life of Wilberforce.  And the life of many black men and women who were victims of the slave trade in Great Britain. No wonder John Newton wrote one of the timeless hymns on the grace of God. Amazing Grace.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
We have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

Isn't there One Wise Enough?

In Corinth, the members of the church were going to court with one another over trivial matters. By doing so they were bringing the name of Christ into disrepute and were driven by pride and greed. We as believers may not necessarily go to court against one another, but we certainly can go to war with one another. I've seen it enough, where members of a church can have differences that lead to major blow-ups and problems. But if we can stem it at the root a lot can be stopped. A good analysis can be found in James 4:1-4

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

The root of infighting and quarrels is covetousness, which is described here as "passions within". Covetousness is not the same as being envious. There is a distinction. Envy is when we covet what belongs to someone else. Coveting in general simply means a strong desire for anything that we think will make us happier. It is at its core idolatry, because we are trying to find happiness and satisfaction in something else rather than God (Cf. Eph.5:5) God is the ultimate source of our happiness, peace and joy.Whenever we try to satisfy our souls with something else rather than God we will always be left with a craving for more. We may satisfy our carnal appetite for a moment, but soon we will need more (cf. Eccl. 5:10.) But Jesus made a promise to us- that all those who come to him will find complete and everlasting satisfaction. In John 4 when Jesus met the woman at the well, he asked her for water and then began to witness to her. She was looking more at temporal satisfaction in life, and Jesus uses the water to illustrate the life giving satisfaction of the gift of eternal life:

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

When we find our satisfaction and contentment in Christ, we will not long and crave after the things of this life. Whether it be money,materiel possessions, health, relationships, a promotion, a title, respect, or the acceptance of others. But when we live to merely satisfy our "passions" it will inevitably lead to anger, bitterness and fighting, because someone is going to get in the way.

The moral of the story is that when we live to merely satisfy our passion, we are considered an adulterous people and friends of the world, making us enemies of God. We are provoke God to jealousy, because we are fining more enjoyment in something else other than him. And furthermore, we provoke him because we disrupt the unity of the church and sacrifice love on the alter of the idol of self. The solution is simple- 1 Peter 2:11- "to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul." and to "Flee from idols" 1 John 5:21. In the end this calls us to die to self. When we die to self, we find our happiness and satisfaction in the life giving waters of communion with God and we dwell in unity with our brethren promoting the unity of the church.

Purge the Evil from your Midst

After unpacking the text of 1 Corinthians 5 we were faced with the unavoidable instructions on how a church is to deal with a member who refuses to repent of their sin. The order is very simple- to expel the immoral brother. Such an approach is highly unpopular today but we cannot determine our churches policies based on what is popular, but on what God says. After all it is his church. We only touched on some of the aspects of biblical church discipline, however there is much more to be said. Here are a few more ideas to chew on and think about in regard to how we approach the subject.

1- Biblical Church discipline is based primarily on the instructions of Jesus in Matt. 18:15-20 and the instructions of Paul in 1 Cor. 5. When comparing the two passages we learn that the church has a responsibility to keep each other accountable to one another. But how do we know what church we are accountable to? In the early church there weren't any options- you were saved and automatically added to the local church and became a member. But in our day, many people come to faith in Christ but refuse to covenant with a local church. With so many churches and denominations in our day, the only we we can be held accountable to the church is through church membership. It is by church membership that we identify ourselves with Christ through covenanting with a local church body Acts 5:13, where it says, "No one dared join the church." What does it mean to join? What about the headcounts in Acts? 3000, 5000, etc.How were these headcounts taken unless there was membership roll?

But more implicitly- how can you be removed from the church if you are not part of it to begin with?

2: Excommunication is the final step in biblical church discipline. Through a series of steps the church works hard to restore the offender. It is only when the church has exhausted itself that excommunication is absolutely necessary. Have you seen extremes in carrying this step out? Have you seen churches that tolerate gross sin in the church without penalty? If so what were the ramifications? Have you seen a church abuse its authority and expel members for the slightest infraction without any chance? What are the ramifications of that? Have you ever been expelled from the church or have you ever known anyone who has been expelled? If so what was the experience like?

3: When Paul talked about handing the person over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, my analysis of the text brought me to the understanding that when someone sins against God they forfeit the blessings and protective grace of God found in the church. While some churches fail to excommunicate a person for gross sin for whatever reason, does this person still experience the grace of God as a member of the local church? What about people who withdraw or leave the church church of their own volition because they are in rebellion? What bout people who have church membership and have secret hidden sin? I believe God hands them over to Satan. I have seen enough people who fall into other categories that God has handed over to Satan and allowed the evil one to do a number on them. What about you? Have you ever seen or experienced this?

God's Rdemption of Mankind Through Motherhood

In this past weeks sermon we saw how God made a promise to Eve that through the seed of the woman, the serpents head would be crushed, thus making a promise and an oath that he would obliterate and destroy the works of Satan through the seed of the woman. That seed is Jesus Christ and that one woman who would give birth to Christ by miraculous means was Mary the wife of Joseph. God continued to verify his promise of mankind when he made a covenant with Abraham. He promised Abraham a "seed"in which "All the nations shall be blessed". The blessing of all nations can mean nothing but the redemption of all humanity through the seed of Abraham. Paul reiterates this in Gal. 3:16 where he says, "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offspring,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ."

This is why it was so important for the Christ to be "born of a woman". In order to be our perfect representative, and in order to redeem the human race and reconcile us back to God, he had to become like us. Therefore the incarnation is absolutely necessary in our Christology. In Heb. 2:14-18 we read...

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.


The Virgin birth was necessary to bring about the person of the Christ, and that Jesus could be the Son of God and Son of Man all at the same time. However throughout Christian history many have tried to explain the mystery of the union of the two natures of Christ through human reasoning and consistently come short. Subsequently we are left with heresies. It is is important for us as believers to have a sound understanding of the necessity of the joining of the two natures and why it is important to affirm and insist the bible teaches Christ is both human and God.

This is not an easy concept to grasp, and many who have struggled with it have erred to one degree or another. In the Chalcedon Confession the early church fathers, faced with a variety of opinions regarding the nature of Christ, took a biblical position on the nature of Christ and established this confession as a fundamental core value of biblical Christianity.

I hope this blesses you..