“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works” (Titus 3:8).

“And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works” (Titus 3:14).

Titus 3:5 is a verse often quoted, and rightly so, to support the truth that salvation is by God’s grace and mercy alone. Our good works did not save us. Surrounding this wonderful verse concerning the finished work of our salvation is the command to devote ourselves to good works. The command to do good works in verses 2, 8 and 14 (the imperative) is based upon the finished work of salvation in verse 5 (the indicative). We can do good works because of what God has done for us through Christ. Our good works are not for the benefit of God, nor are they to merit favor with God. Our devotion to good works is for the benefit of others.

When we speak no evil of others and show courtesy to them, we are benefitting them. We devote ourselves to good works because “these things are excellent and profitable for people” (v. 8). People profit from our good works. God does not need our good works. God is not “served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). We devote ourselves to good works “to help cases of urgent need and not be unfruitful” (Titus 3:14). People need our good works.

Jesus tells us the ultimate goal in doing good works, “Let your light so shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Our genuine trust and belief in God’s finished work on our behalf (Titus 3:5) frees us to do good works for no other motivation than to glorify God. I am “justified by his grace” (Titus 3:6), therefore, I do not need to do good works. I want to do good works because I am a different person. I was “once foolish, disobedient, led astray, [slave] to various passions and pleasures, passing [my] days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating [others]” (Titus 3:3). Now, God has changed me “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

So devote yourselves to good works not because you have to but because you want to. Devote yourselves to good works because God has changed you. Someone may be touched by your one act of kindness and subsequently glorify our Father who is in heaven. There is no greater earthly reward than that.

Soli Deo Gloria!

First, let me encourage you to adopt an unreached/unengaged people group as a prayer focus. Educate yourself on this unreached people group with IMB resources, Operation World or the Joshua Project. Subscribe to various email updates so you can pray specifically for the spread of the gospel in this unreached people group.

Second, let me encourage you to give an offering to specifically help reach an unreached people group. Our church is a small church with a big vision. We believe God is going to use us to engage our unreached/unengaged people group with the Gospel. There are many obstacles to us engaging this people group. The biggest obstacle, of course, is the financial obstacle. So I ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with us to reach this people group. There are no known churches or Christians in this people group. If you would like to give toward this effort, you can visit our E-Giving link. Register as a new user, and select the “Unreached People Group Missions Fund” when you make a transaction. Or, you can mail a check and designate “Unreached People Group Missions Fund” on the memo line of your check. Mail the check to:

Bayview Baptist Church

707 E. Bayview Blvd.

Norfolk, VA 23503

If you have any questions about our unreached people group or our summer vision trip, you can email us here. Thank you for your prayers, and thank you for your generous support.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I was not aware of this case Judge: Va. Beach noise-statute standards are too lax, but since these gentlemen and their church are in my neighborhood I wanted to comment on this story. Before they closed Rosie’s bar on Chesapeake boulevard, the street preachers in this story would stand across the street from this bar with a megaphone calling on the bar patrons to repent. Perhaps some of you know and have encountered these street preachers.

I cannot say with absolute certainty their approach to evangelism is unbiblical. I cannot find a passage where it says, “Thou shalt not street preach with a megaphone.” There was certainly a lot of street preaching going on in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, there was certainly some fiery prophets shouting “repent” at the top of their lungs. I cannot, therefore, tell them they are wrong for preaching in this manner.

I can say I have not run into one person who has come to Christ as a result of listening to a street preacher. This does not mean, of course, there are not some who may have come to Christ in this way. I just don’t know of anyone. I do not know of any studies done on the effectiveness of street preaching evangelism. Perhaps some bored seminarian will undertake such a study.

From my perspective as a United States citizen, I do get a little nervous when there are too many restrictions placed on free speech. Hey, I’m a pastor. We speak for a living. I realize noise can be a problem. We have noise ordinances which prevent my rump shaking neighbors from playing their music at window shattering levels after 10 at night. In the case of these street preachers, the judge found the noise law in Virginia Beach to be inconsistent and not well defined.

Personally I do not believe shouting in a megaphone is the best evangelism method. The message of the Gospel is indeed offensive (1 Cor. 1:18-25; Gal. 5:11), but we do not have to be offensive to preach the Gospel.

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

(2 Timothy 2:24-25)

Continue to engage people with the Gospel. Do so, however, with kindness, patience and gentleness. Also pray that God would grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Occasionally I skim through the articles in the Baptist Press to keep abreast of what is happening in our denomination. While reading “2nd View: John 3:16 Conference Addresses Calvinism,” I was a little rankled. This section particularly upset me:

Adam Harwood, Christian studies professor at Truett-McConnell College in Georgia, in his presentation directly challenged the perspective on humanity inheriting the guilt of Adam's sin.

Harwood contended that while all people have a sinful nature, only Adam is guilty of Adam's sin because "according to the Bible, God judges people for their own sin."

Harwood claimed that some Southern Baptists, particularly R. Albert Mohler Jr. and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, disagreed with this stance.

Harwood referenced an article Mohler wrote on his blog in 2012 titled "Southern Baptists and Salvation: It's Time to Talk" along with Mohler's claim that a 2012 document signed online by many non-Calvinist Southern Baptists, called "A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God's Plan of Salvation", "appear[ed] to affirm semi-Pelagian understandings of sin, human nature and the human will –– understandings that virtually all Southern Baptists have denied."

As described in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, semi-Pelagianism "affirmed that the unaided [human] will performed the initial act of faith" and "the priority of the human will over the grace of God in the initial act of salvation."

Harwood said unity within the SBC may depend, in part, on Mohler retracting his claim.

Harwood also called on Southern Seminary to revise a faculty-written interpretation of the Baptist Faith and Message which Harwood said goes beyond the doctrinal stands of SBC Baptist Faith and Message.

In Article 3 of the BF&M, humanity inherits from Adam "a nature and an environment inclined toward sin" whereas, in the SBTS interpretation, "the guilt of Adam's sin falls on all."

"I do not mean to imply that SBTS faculty don't affirm the BF&M. They do so as part of the hiring process," Harwood said.

"But the faculty exposition omits concepts found in the BF&M and replaces them with a theological viewpoint not found in the BF&M," Harwood said, "namely that all people are guilty of Adam's sin."

The part which rankles me the most is Harwood’s assertion that unity within the SBC may depend, in part, on Mohler retracting his claim. Harwood’s assertion is unfortunate. Unity in the SBC does not depend on Mohler retracting his claim. Unity depends on whether or not people in the Southern Baptist Convention who hold different views of how salvation happens (i.e., monergistic salvation: God working alone or synergistic salvation: God and humans working together) will agree to disagree and work together to fulfill the Great Commission. I hold a monergistic view of salvation, but I would not assert that my friends who hold a synergistic view of salvation must deny their doctrinal convictions in order for me to be in unity with them.

While I agree with Harwood that God judges people for their own sin, I disagree with his position that humanity did not inherit Adam’s guilt. Paul’s argument in Romans 5:12-21 certainly disputes Harwood’s position. Paul summarizes his argument in verse 18 and makes a conclusion. “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” Verse 12, verse 15 and verse 18 clearly suggest that the one sin of Adam resulted in condemnation for all people. Condemnation comes only to the guilty. We not only inherited an inclination to sin, but we also inherited Adam’s guilt. I cannot be sure, but perhaps Harwood’s objection might be rooted in western culture. John Stott explains, “The concept of our having sinned in Adam is certainly foreign to the mindset of western individualism. But are we to subordinate Scripture to our own cultural perspective?”[1]

Paul’s comparison and contrast of Christ and Adam does not make sense if Adam’s sin and guilt were not inherited by all humans. Paul is essentially saying that as Adam’s guilt and condemnation was imputed (charged or credited to) all humans, so also is Christ’s righteousness imputed to those who believe. “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (v. 19). The comparison, what is similar, is imputation. With Adam, guilt, condemnation and death are imputed. With Christ, justification (being made righteous) and life are imputed.

Calvinism will not split the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Neither will someone such as Dr. Mohler stating his position or Dr. Harwood stating their position. What causes splits is insisting your position be the dominant position, and denigrating and attacking those who hold a different position. Both Calvinists and non-Calvinists have been guilty of this within the SBC. However, Calvinists and non-Calvinists within the SBC have been cooperating and working together to fulfill the Great Commission throughout the history the denomination. Let’s keep it that way.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. (Acts 17:16)

When it comes to responding to those who do not know Christ, there are two biblical emotional responses: compassion and anger. When it comes to responding to the lost, our hearts may respond with a mixture of compassion and anger.

Jesus responds with compassion when he sees the crowds. This is the basis for his command to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38). In addition to laboring in the harvest, we are to pray for more laborers. The religious leaders of Israel failed in their responsibility to shepherd the people. Jesus is the Messiah who comes to shepherd his people (Mic. 5:4). We must also have compassion for the crowds. We must act on our compassion by laboring in the harvest (i.e., proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and meeting needs Matt. 9:35), and we must pray for more laborers to join us.

Instead of being impressed by the ornate display of artistry in the sculptures of Athens, Paul is angered. Anger is also a biblical emotion when approaching the lost. Angry not at them, but angry that God is not being worshipped. Angry that God is not getting the glory he alone deserves. Instead of worshipping God, the people are worshipping idols of their own invention. This should make us angry. God will not share his glory with another (Isa. 42:8), and it should anger us when God does not receive glory. Does this mean we run through our city tearing down public idols, angrily excoriating people for their sin of failing to glorify God? What did Paul do? “So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17). Instead of acting with a fit of rage (the way of worldly anger), Paul reasons with people. The righteous anger of Paul leads him to reason with people in hopes of persuading them to follow Christ.

Perhaps you are feeling no emotion when you look upon the lost in your city. We cannot make ourselves feel anything, of course. If you know Christ, you can do something about your lack of emotion. Our growing in the likeness of Christ is progressive. We are being changed by the Holy Spirit from one degree of glory to another (2 Cor. 3:18). So I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord of glory to change your emotions. Ask him to give you his heart toward the lost, helpless and idol worshipping crowds. He will answer. I must warn you. Righteous emotions lead to righteous behavior. If God burdens your heart, you will act on those emotions. You will labor in the harvest, and patiently reason with those in your city.

This is a quick note to my fellow middle-aged brothers in the pulpit. Stop trying to be cool. Stop wearing skinny jeans, leather necklaces with a shark tooth and hoodies with skulls on them. You look ridiculous. Besides, some of your grandchildren’s friends are saying, “Your grandpa dresses funny.” Also, stop trying to make the Gospel fit into whatever movie happens to be popular. The Apostle Paul isn’t like Frodo. There is nothing “Christian” about people playing a game that involves killing others for sport, even if they were forced into playing the game. Real Christians just say no, and die for their refusal to fit in. Stop preaching words that soothe the ears of our narcissistic culture.

Instead, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” In other words, brothers, open the book, read the book, explain what you read and tell people to respond to what they have heard. This is not cool. It is your calling. If you want to be cool, do something else.

Soli Deo Gloria!

· “The sheep hear his voice” v. 3

· “The sheep follow him, for they know his voice” v. 4

· The sheep do not follow a stranger “for they do not know the voice of strangers.” v. 5

· The sheep did not listen to the thieves and robbers who came before Jesus. v. 8

· “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” v. 14

· The other sheep being brought in “will listen to my voice.” v. 16

· “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” v. 27

In verse 27, Jesus summarizes his message. His summary really answers the question: how can anyone know that they know Christ? You can know that you know Christ if you hear his voice, if he knows you and you follow him. Knowing Christ is the ultimate question. It is the reason, after all, people are denied entrance to the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7:21-23). If you know Christ and he knows you, then you hear his voice and you follow him.

In addition to knowing that you know Christ, there is an added benefit: God’s protection. Jesus says,

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one (John 10:28-30).

As ones who know Christ, you have eternal life. You will never perish. God the Father, who is all-powerful, holds you in his hand. No one, however powerful they may be, can take you out of his hand. You can know that you know Christ, and you can experience divine protection and security.

The truths of John 10 are not mere ideas you believe as a Christian. The truths of John 10 are ongoing realities in the life of a Christian. So walk in the confidence of Christ. Walk confidently knowing that you know Christ. Walk fearlessly knowing you are protected by power no one can trump—the power of God.

Soli Deo Gloria!

In April 1996, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals produced a document called The Cambridge Declaration. This declaration reaffirms the doctrines of the historic Christian faith. You can read the entire declaration here. The five theses of this declaration are:

Thesis One: Sola Scriptura

We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.

We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

Thesis Two: Solus Christus

We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Thesis Three: Sola Gratia

We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.

We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.

Thesis Four: Sola Fide

We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice.

We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

Thesis Five: Soli Deo Gloria

We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone.

We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.

I like to summarize the five solas this way: I am saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone for the glory of God alone. On this hill I will die, and I will not compromise these truths. As David Wells so aptly puts it,

It takes no courage to sign up as a Protestant. After all, millions have done so throughout the West. They are not in any peril. To live by the truths of historic Protestantism, however, is an entirely different matter. That takes courage in today's context.[1]

Do you have the courage to be Protestant?

Soli Deo Gloria!

This message seems so foreign to American Christians. We like the strengthening the souls of the disciples part. We love being encouraged to continue in the faith. Paul loses us when he says, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” This just does not fit our American conception of Christianity where suffering for Jesus means having to downsize in a bad economy.

Adding insult to our injury, Paul mentions this again in 2 Timothy 3:10-13:

You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Now I am sure you can come up with many reasons why American Christians are not suffering persecution. We have freedom of religion, greater human rights, our government is a republic with democratic principles, etc…These reasons, however, are not conclusive. The major reason we are not being persecuted in America is this: we do not desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. I cannot arrive at any other conclusion. Paul does not say people who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus may be persecuted, he says they will be persecuted. We are not living godly lives in Christ Jesus nor, for the most part, do we desire to live such a life. Our American brand of Christianity is simply not a threat to the devil.

I am praying for a return to the apostolic, Early Church brand of Christianity found in the book of Acts. They were a people who lived godly lives in Christ Jesus, who boldly proclaimed the gospel and went about the business of making disciples of all nations through the power of the Holy Spirit. We can do no less if we expect to bear any resemblance to the ones who were first called “Christians” at Antioch (Acts 11:26).

Soli Deo Gloria!

· Acts 1: Jesus ascends to heaven and promises them power from on high. Judas is replaced by Mathias.

· Acts 2: The Holy Spirit explodes on the scene in dramatic fashion. Peter preaches a bold message, 3000 are saved, and the church regularly fellowships with one another in their homes.

· Acts 3: Peter heals a lame man, then preaches the gospel to the astounded people gathered in Solomon’s Portico.

· Acts 4: Peter and John are taken before the council and told to keep their mouth shut. They refuse, of course. The believers share generously with each other.

· Acts 5: Ananias and Sapphira are struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. Great fear comes upon the whole church, duh. Miracles accompany the ministry of the Apostles. The Apostles are arrested, beaten and set free and ordered again to keep their mouths shut.

· Acts 6: The first deacons are chosen, Stephen does miracles, and false witnesses accuse him before the council.

· Acts 7: Stephen boldly proclaims the gospel and then he is summarily executed.

· Acts 8: Saul persecutes the church and Philip shares the gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch and he is converted.

· Acts 9: Saul the persecutor is converted dramatically followed by other incredible miracles (dead raised etc…)

· Acts 10: God brings the Jewish and Gentile believers together through one incredible vision.

· Acts 11: The church is scattered through persecution; believers first called Christians at Antioch.

· Acts 12: James is martyred, Peter is put in prison and miraculously delivered and Herod dies mysteriously by the hand of God.

· Acts 13: More going and spreading of the gospel, more people saved, and more persecution.

You cannot really say the disciples had an easy go of it. Wherever they went, sure God did miracles and people were saved, but most of the time they encountered persecution and some of them lost their lives. And then Luke says, “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Incredible, absolutely incredible!

I can only conclude that joy and the filling of the Holy Spirit are accompany people who are actively engaged in bringing the gospel to all nations. I can also conclude the opposite. Joy and the filling of the Holy Spirit are absent in a “so called” church which is not engaged in bringing the gospel to all nations.

A deep abiding sense of joy in spite of violent persecution is a supernatural gift from God. How could any believers face such persecution without the joy of the Lord filling their heart? We need God’s joy in order to have the strength to face persecution (Neh. 8:10). The filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit are given for the purpose of bringing the gospel to all nations (Acts 1:8). The filling/empowering/baptizing or whatever you want to call it of the Holy Spirit is not given so we can live the American dream or dance around our churches in Holy Spirit Hootenannies. Nothing against dancing mind you, I’m just saying the Holy Spirit’s main purpose is not everything we made him out to be.

Do you think the church today should be like the church in Acts? Me too. So let’s get back to the basics of Acts. Pray, Holy Spirit power falls on us, we go and witness with the miraculous accompanying at times (in spite of what you think, they did not do miracles every day), people get saved, depending on where we are we may encounter persecution, we endure the persecution and oh yeah, we are “filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

P.S. You can watch this clever video The Book of Acts in Three Minutes for a concise summary of the entire book of Acts. Courtesy of the Church at Brook Hills.

Would He devote that sacred head for sinners such as I?

Was it for crimes that I have done, He groaned upon the tree?

Amazing pity! Grace unknown! And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in,

When God, the mighty Maker, died for man the creature’s sin.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe;

Here, Lord, I give myself away; Tis all that I can do.

(Alas and Did My Savior Bleed, Isaac Watts)

Only this “love beyond degree” can provide what my heart needs on Valentine’s Day and every day. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1).

Soli Deo Gloria!

I am also disturbed by a lack of understanding and instruction in the church of the biblical view of manhood and womanhood. What are the proper roles, biblically speaking, for men and women? A great resource is the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW). You will find a multitude of resources there for your education and edification. I encourage you to read their latest blog entry “Women in Combat: A Complementarian Perspective” by Owen Strachan.

We must not retreat from the public sphere because the biblical worldview is unpopular. We must continue to speak the truth in love. The CBMW is a great resource to equip you in speaking the truth in love on the issue of gender.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This Sunday, January 20 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control,

234 abortions per 1,000 live births

Abortions per year: 1.2 million

Abortions per day: 3,288

Abortions per hour: 137

9 abortions every 4 minutes

1 abortion every 26 seconds

From 1973-2011, there were 54.5 million abortions in the United States. This is the real national tragedy.

As a new follower of Christ, I wrote a poem 28 years ago concerning the issue of abortion.

One Little Heart

One little heart

Beats rapidly, yet softly

Inside a mother’s womb;

The tapestry of another life

Being weaved carefully

By the Creator’s loom.

One little heart,

Who could soon greet the world,

Waits very eagerly

With body comfortably curled.

One little heart

Is the heart of a little boy;

Surely, this should bring

The mother great joy.

One little heart

Cries out in pain.

Another innocent victim,

Another child is slain.

© 1985 Cary M. Paulk

I am still as passionate or perhaps more passionate about this issue than I was 28 years ago. As God’s people, we must continue to pray and speak out against this national sin until Jesus returns. We must not be silenced by the mainstream culture of death in our country. We must continue to support worthy prolife causes such as Crisis Pregnancy Centers and adoption. I hope you will join me this Sunday (and everyday) in praying for the end of this evil practice, and join me in exposing this national tragedy.

Soli Deo Gloria!

They're worth so much more after I'm a goner

And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singing

Funny, when you're dead how people start listening

(The Band Perry from the song “If I Die Young)

These lyrics strike an emotional chord each time I hear them. Perhaps this is because I lost a son who died young. I know the pain of “the sharp knife of a short life.”

I appreciate truth. I appreciate people who observe life and make accurate observations. I appreciate whoever wrote the lyrics of “If I Die Young.” It is generally true that we start listening after someone dies. In the initial grief, of course, we long to hear the voice of our loved ones. As time passes, the one we lost speaks to us in our memories. We remember conversations—words of joy, words of pain, words of sadness, words of happiness—the words of their lives. We start listening after they die, but we also listen long after. Surprisingly, the continued listening brings far more comfort than sadness.

So, obviously, we should strive to listen actively in the present. Be there when you talk to people. Look at them, listen to them and acknowledge that you hear them. Sadly, I still struggle with being a good listener. Sounds like a good resolution, huh—resolved: I will be a better listener in 2013. Pray for me, and I will pray for you.

Soli Deo Gloria!

P.S. My apologies for two blog posts in a row related to death.

The Apostle Peter feared the circumcision party (i.e., those who added obeying Jewish ceremonial law as a requirement for salvation) so he withdraws from his Gentile brothers and sisters. Paul publicly rebukes Peter for this sin because this "conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel." We often do not think of behavior when considering the truth of the gospel. Usually we think solely in terms of precepts to believe or not to believe. Yet Paul defines Peter's behavior as being out of step with the truth of the gospel.

Specifically, Peter withdraws obviously so as not to offend the "Jesus + circumcision + obeying ceremonial law = salvation" crowd. Paul's emphatic presentation of the gospel in Galatians can be summed up as "Jesus + nothing = salvation." The gospel of the circumcision party is no gospel at all according to Paul (Gal. 1:6-7). We commit the same error as Peter when we modify the truth of the gospel so as not to offend certain people. When we soften the sin part and only present the Jesus loves you part in order to make the gospel more palatable to others, we are not in step with the truth of the gospel. We also commit the same error if we add our own list to the gospel and shun other people who do not keep our list. This is tantamount to forming a contemporary "circumcision party."

I believe this principle of ensuring our conduct lines up with the truth of the gospel can be applied broadly. I believe we should ask ourselves this question when considering the rightness or wrongness of a particular action: "Is this behavior in step with the truth of the gospel?" I think by asking this question we can clear up much moral confusion.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This Scripture records the vision that Isaiah the prophet experienced. We can learn something very important about God that is absolutely crucial to be rightly related to God. Before we can experience the revival and spiritual awakening, we have to return to a biblical view of God. We have to view God the way he is portrayed in the Scripture and not the way we want him to be. We also have to respond to this God properly in order to experience revival in our midst. We are going to see that how our culture and how churches sometimes view God is often very different from the way God is portrayed in Scripture. We must see the God He is and not the god we want Him to be if we are going to experience revival.

Before we experience revival:

• We must see the God he is. (vv. 1-4)

Before I discuss the God he is, let’s look at the God that we often want him to be. We want him to be:

o Our buddy: you know the one we kind of pal around with. God’s my buddy. Me and God are tight. God helps me and I help him. God scratches my back and I scratch his back. Listen, God is not your buddy. He does not need you to do anything for him. Acts 17:24-25 says, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” He is God, but he is not our buddy. He does not need me, nor does he need you. We need him.

o Our therapist: Some view God as some kind of cosmic therapist. You lay on his couch, you tell him all your problems and everything that is making you feel bad about yourself. Then God says to you, it’s not your fault you feel this way. It is because your self esteem has been damaged. Let me help you rebuild your self esteem so you will feel better about yourself. Listen, God is not your therapist. He did not come to make you feel better about yourself. He came to make you righteous. He came to make you right with Him.

o Our Hero: Sometimes we want God to be just a really big person—a kind of hero. Someone who rescues us from everything that we do not find pleasant in life. We do not want to suffer. We want to have everything we want. So, when we don’t have it, we cry out to our hero to give it to us. Why? So we can feel better, of course. Someone causing us trouble. We cry out to God, sick em God. And then God comes to our rescue. God the hero. Well God is not a hero in that way. He does not come to rescue us from everything that we think is a problem for us. He does not, nor has he ever worked that way in spite of what some preachers may tell you. Many times God wants us to go through the unpleasant stuff because He wants to accomplish His purpose through the unpleasant stuff.

Now that we know what God is not, what is He? He is:

o Totally in control: When the prophet Isaiah says he saw God on the throne, he was saying that God is ruling and reigning over this world. Nothing escapes his rule and reign. He is on the throne. We must view God as the one who is totally in control. He is controlling the movement of every molecule and atom on this planet. Even the minute cells of your body. He is on the throne.

o Totally other: Now what do I mean by that? Totally other means that God is totally other than what we are. When Isaiah says he saw God “high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple,” he is saying God is totally beyond us. He is totally other. We are a grain of sand. He is the galaxy. In fact, He is so beyond and above us that he is in another galaxy all together. God is not in the same solar system as we are. The theological word for this characteristic of God is his transcendence. You see, we must look outside of ourselves to the God he is rather than try to find a divine spark within us as the New Age crowd tells us to do. God does not want to bring out the goodness in us because there is nothing good in us. The apostle Paul said it well in Romans 7:18, “For nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.” So stop looking in yourself. You will not find what you need there. Goodness can only be found in God.

o Totally holy: When the seraphim were flying around singing “holy, holy, holy,” they were not just being repetitious to emphasize a point. They were repeating this three times in the sense of multiplication. That is, they were saying that God is infinitesimally holy. He is holy to the infinite power. No one matches his holiness. Everything that is right, pure, holy and glorious is found in God and nowhere else. He is so holy that his glory fills the entire earth. It spills out in everything that was created. God is totally, completely, infinitely holy and glorious. He is the great and terrible God.

In case you are wondering, an appearance of God in this physical form like this is called a theophany. And during this theophany, the earth around Isaiah shook with violent force. Smoke filled the house where Isaiah was worshipping. If this happened at your church, the neighbors would definitely be wondering what was going on across the street.

What we must understand today is this is the God He is. This is primarily what God is like. If someone were to ask you, this is the way you should describe God. Now is God other things like love, kindness, forgiveness, etc…Yes. He is all those things. But, we must approach God first as the one who is totally in control, totally other, and totally holy and glorious. Then and only then, will we be able to experience the love, kindness, and forgiveness that God wants to pour out. We must first face God in all his holiness and grandeur before we approach him any other way.

Now, what’s going to happen if we get back to viewing God and approaching God this way? What is going to happen when we see the God He is rather than the God we want him to be? The same thing that happened to Isaiah. Before revival comes:

• We must accept the people we are. (vv. 5-6)

Isaiah’s response to this vision is very telling. Let me read Isaiah’s response again: “And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Translation: “I’m toast! I am totally lost. I am a total and complete sinner and so is everybody else. I have seen the perfect, holy and righteous King of the Universe and I am done for! It’s not use in me trying to run, because I am about to be a pile of ashes.” In other words, after seeing God as He really is Isaiah came face to face with who he was. Isaiah realized what kind of person he was. He was a sinner. He realized that there was nothing he could do to make himself right before a God like that, so his conclusion, I’m history!

Notice what Isaiah did not say. He did not say, Oh, forgive me God. I’m just a little misguided in my attempts to be righteous. Everybody makes mistakes. Surely you understand. No one is perfect, right? Ooops. I forgot, you’re perfect. But anyway, Lord, I’ve been wounded and hurt. That’s why I am so unclean and do the little wrong things I do. You understand, don’t you God? No, Isaiah did not say that. He said, I’m history! I don’t have any hope of getting out of this. You see when we get close to God, we realize what kind of people we really are. The closer we get to the glorious light of God’s holiness, we realize how much we need him and how far away we are from God.

God cannot and will not use us unless we first accept what kind of people we really are. John Piper puts it this way:

The difference between Uncle Sam and Jesus Christ is that Uncle Sam won’t enlist you unless you are healthy and Jesus won’t enlist you unless you are sick. What is God looking for in the world? Assistants? No. The gospel is not a help wanted ad. It is a help available ad. God is not looking for people to work for him but people who let him work mightily in and through them.[1]

Have you accepted who you are? Are you honest about that? Or, are you still trying to prove to God that you got everything under control?

Now that we know the God He is, and the kind of people we are, there remains one thing we must do before revival comes.

• We must trust His provision for our problem. (vv. 6-7)

Verse 6-7 says, “Then one of the seraphim (which by the way means flaming one) flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.’”

What happened here? The God of grace acted—that’s what happened. Isaiah’s assessment of his situation was correct: “Woe is me; I am lost.” But God took the initiative to do something about Isaiah’s problem. Isaiah’s problem was that He was a sinner. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that Isaiah could do to atone for his sin. He couldn’t even pray. All he could do was brace himself for the fiery wrath of God that was sure to come down at any moment. But it didn’t come. Instead, the God of grace made provision for his sin.

We must understand that Isaiah was a believer when this event occurred. He had been a prophet in the service of the Lord already. So, this was not an account of Isaiah’s salvation experience. No, this was Isaiah learning who God really was, and who he really was in the eyes of God. And the only thing that Isaiah could do when he saw God and saw himself was to fall on his face and eat the dirt. But instead of wrath, Isaiah got grace. His sins were wiped away, his lips purified, his guilt taken away. That’s grace. That’s grace.

I think it is safe to assume that Isaiah never forgot his place after that day. He was not one to develop a high opinion of himself. He knew who God was, and he knew who he was. Do you know that? Do you know who God is? Do you know who you are? Perhaps you are a Christian who has already trusted in Christ’s provision for you on the cross. But have you forgotten your place? Do you think God is privileged to have you on his team? Do you think that you are so much better than everyone else in the spiritual growth area? You see, we must trust in that provision Christ made every day. That and that alone is the only thing that is keeping God from incinerating me in a flash of his justified wrath. Are you trusting in his provision for your problem?

Conclusion

Will God ever appear to us like that in the future? The answer to that question is yes.

2 Thess 1:7-10 says,

when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

The time to respond is obviously now, before that day comes. Because when that great and terrible day comes, it will be too late. This is the God He is, the people we are and the provision He has made for our sins.

If you go on Facebook for at least a few days consecutively, you will inevitably see posts saying something like this: “Like if you love Jesus, keep scrolling if you do not care.” Perhaps you are fond of posts like this or maybe you have posted something similar. Please don’t take this personally. When I see posts like that, I roll my eyes. The person who posts “like if you love Jesus” cannot see me rolling my eyes, and perhaps this is a good thing.

I roll my eyes because I believe these posts really trivialize what it means to follow Jesus. Do we actually think Jesus had something like this in mind when he said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24)? While I am on the subject, I notice something else peculiar to Facebook. Some make a lot of bold statements about Jesus on Facebook. I wholeheartedly agree with many of these statements. I wonder, however, how many posting so boldly on Facebook are as bold in their actual public life? Acknowledging your allegiance to Christ publicly should not be trivialized to the relative safety of Facebook. Jesus also said, "So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 10:32-33). What matters the most is what we actually say when we are face to face with someone. When the heat is turned up, will you hide behind your computer screen on Facebook? Or, will you stand face to face and acknowledge Christ before men?

Soli Deo Gloria!

I wonder what would happen if the contemporary American Church behaved this way? Some bristle at this suggestion arguing that the book of Acts is merely history and not applicable for Christians today. I agree Acts is history, but I would not limit it to just history. I believe much of Acts prescribes how Christians should behave for all time. Unity is commanded for all Christians, and this unity should be demonstrated with radical generosity when necessary.

Again, the question: what would happen if the contemporary American church behaved this way? What would happen if a local church behaved this way? I believe the answer to this question is revealed in Acts 4:34: “There was not a needy person among them.” I pray for this to be a reality in my local church.

Soli Deo Gloria!

From a biblical perspective, are God’s people in the majority on earth? That is, are there more genuine Christians on earth than other people? The answer to that question is no. God’s people are not in a majority, in fact, we have always been a minority. Throughout the Old Testament, the word “remnant” is used to designate true believers from those in name only. Jesus speaks of the minority of true believers when he says,

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matt. 7:13-14)

Those who will enter the way of destruction are the majority, and those who are on the way of life are the minority. After discussing Israelites who rejected Jesus as the Messiah, Paul reminds us of how God encouraged Elijah by informing him there were seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Then Paul says, “So too at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (Rom. 11:5).

Regardless of what statistics may say about Christianity in America, we are not the majority. Surely you are not so gullible to believe that everyone who identifies themselves as “Christian” really is “Christian?” We are and always will be a minority in this fallen world that is not our home.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I am thankful I live in the United States, and I have many rights that people in some countries do not have. The right to vote is one of the most cherished rights Americans possess. As good citizens (we should really be the best citizens), Christians must exercise this right to vote by going to the polls on Tuesday. This is an extremely important election and a crucial time for our country. There are many things we can disagree on as Christians, but there are some things that are crystal clear. The Bible speaks clearly about issues such as abortion, the definition of marriage and caring for those who are truly needy. We cannot cast these issues aside when we go into the voting booth. We must choose the candidates who best represent those values.

Since we have the right to vote and many other rights Christians in other parts of the world do not have, we cannot forget about our persecuted brothers and sisters. We must pray for them and support them in any way we can. In order to do this, we must be well informed. There is a Voice of the Martyrs conference here in my local area where you can learn more about the persecuted church. It is free and you can register at the door. If you cannot stay for the whole day, come out for part of the day. “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).

Soli Deo Gloria

Sometimes when I read the posts of some in my congregation, I wonder whether or not they realize their pastor is actually reading their posts. I say this because I am shocked by some of the things I read. Some posts are tasteless, some are rude, some are theologically suspect and some border on the pornographic. When you post on Facebook, post as if your pastor is going to read what you post.

I notice people post things in ways they would never say in person. It’s as if there is some kind of perceived anonymity or protective firewall shielding people socially from the consequences of their posts. I read an article about this recently, but I cannot remember where. It is sad, not funny or cute, that people morph into jerks or snarky fools when they get on Facebook. So take a little advice from a pastor today. When you post on Facebook, post the way you would speak face to face.

Soli Deo Gloria!

· Wednesdays: Pray for missionaries, unreached people groups and the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) around the world.

· Thursdays: Pray for unbelievers you know and for opportunities to share the Gospel.

· Fridays: Pray for members of your local church.

· Saturdays: Pray for your coworkers and your boss. Also pray for government leaders and those in governmental authority.

· Sundays: Ask God to bring to your mind and heart those who need prayer and lift them up to the Lord.

· DAILY: Pray for God to send revival and awakening to you and His Church (Psalm 85:6)

God has called us to “stand in the gap” (Ezekiel 22:30) before Him and intercede for people. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, let us be faithful to this call.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

(Ezekiel 17:22-24)

God gave Ezekiel this parable to describe the ideal messianic future. Previously in chapter 17, God brings judgment to his people who abandon the covenant. The hope in judgment is it will not be this way forever. God will bring the messiah, and under his reign there “will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.” There will be restoration and the tender sprig (Jesus) will “become a noble cedar.”

Under the messianic kingdom, “The trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” God encouraged me greatly from this verse. Like Israel, we the church deserve judgment but instead we receive mercy. Under the New Covenant, God forgives our iniquity and remembers our sins no more (Jer. 31:34).

Like Israel, I believe my local church (and the church in America) is withering and drying up like the vine in Ezekiel 17. My hope in this judgment is God calls people to pray for revival. My hope is in God who “will make the dry tree flourish.” I pray for personal revival first—that God will make the dry tree of my heart flourish with white hot passion for his glory among the nations. I pray for revival for my local church—that God will show them his glory, and they will turn back to him. I pray for revival in the American Church—that we will be “like a green olive tree in the house of the Lord” (Psalm 52:8).

I believe God desires to send awakening and revival to his Church. Connected with this revival is a greater personal involvement in declaring his glory among the nations (1 Chron. 16:24). This will require personal sacrifice, believing God for the impossible and going wherever he leads. Connected with this revival is greater effectiveness in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). Make no mistake about it—it is going to take a drastic move of God’s Holy Spirit upon my local church and the American Church (i.e., a revival) to get us doing what we should have already been doing.

I praise God for those who are actively engaged in bringing the gospel to the nations. Many are risking their lives for the gospel. Yet, we need to cry out to God to move the rest of us out of our apathy, lack of spiritual power and dry barren lives into active service for his glory.

Soli Deo Gloria!

(1 Chron. 16:24)

When I was a young believer in Christ, I was discipled by men associated with the Navigators. I remember in one of the books of the Design for Discipleship series, it encouraged us to develop a “world vision.” I remember putting up a map of the world in my room and praying for the nations.

Since then, I have retired from the Navy and I have been the pastor of a church for 11 years. My missions involvement has been minimal (one trip to Romania), and our church gives through the cooperative program of the SBC. My wife and I have recently become host parents to an international high school student from China. She is a sweet girl and we are enjoying our experience with her. We are also praying God will use us to help her grow in her relationship with Christ.

I am shocked by how easy it has been for me to give missions a minimal consideration in my life. The Holy Spirit is convicting me of my misplaced priorities. I have to ask seriously, “Have we forgotten the nations?” Sadly, in my own life, I believe I have. I am not sure what this means for me and our church for the future. I do know, however, it means we will be challenged to engage in a greater way for the nations. We are a small church with limited resources, but I believe God can do much with the willing. The question for you is: “Are you content to forget, or will you accept God’s challenge for greater involvement in reaching the nations?”

Soli Deo Gloria!

When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments (Psalm 119:59-60).

When I bow in prayer, I am more aware of God’s knowledge of my ways. He knows what I am feeling, and he knows what I have done. A greater urgency arises in my heart to obey God. Before the throne of God in an attitude of prayer and worship, I cannot escape the holiness of God. My obedience arises from a sense of awe and gratitude. I am in awe because of who God is and overflowing with gratitude for what God has done. I hasten, therefore, to keep God’s commandments.

When you engage in personal prayer, it is just you and God. I encourage you to think on your ways when you pray. Bring your feelings and actions before our holy God. One of the ways God makes us holy is through this kind of “thinking” prayer.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Tucked among Paul’s final instructions in 1 Thessalonians is this request: “Brothers pray for us.” The request comes right after Paul’s prayer for the God of peace to sanctify the Thessalonians and right before his exhortation, “Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss” (1 Thess. 5:26). It could be easily missed—dismissed as an afterthought.

It is not, however, an afterthought. The Apostle Paul valued the prayers of God’s people. In 2 Thess. 3:1-2, Paul expands on his request for prayer: “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.” God works through the prayers of his people to rapidly spread the Gospel. The Gospel is opposed by wicked people, and prayer is necessary for the protection of God’s leaders.

Like Paul, pastors value the prayers of God’s people. Pastors need God’s favor in the spread of the Gospel, and pastors need God’s protection. Pastors and elders need prayer for other reasons too. The work of the ministry is not easy, and sometimes pastors do not see any fruit from their labors. We can become discouraged, and we can struggle to believe God’s promises. We see the needs, both material and spiritual, and pray for breakthroughs. Sometimes the pulpit is a lonely place.

So, we like Paul plead with you, “Brothers [and sisters], pray for us.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

credits

The fact that we are still God’s image-bearers and consequently possess all of the requisite natural ability for relating to God and others in covenant faithfulness—and the fact that this is even realized in our sense of duty to the rule of law—renders us culpable (Ro. 1:18-2:16). The fault lies not in that we cannot but that we will not turn from our sin to the living God (John 8:44). Captive to sin, “in Adam,” we are nevertheless willing accomplices to our own imprisonment (Ro. 5:12). Only when God seizes us and liberates our captivity are we truly free to be the human beings that we are (John 8:36).[1]

Now tell me—doesn’t that make you feel better?

Soli Deo Gloria!

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord,

Or who has been his counselor?

Or who has given a gift to him

that he might be repaid?

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-35)

When you really think about God, you conclude he is so totally other—so totally above and beyond you. He is beyond figuring out—you just cannot map out God’s next move. You don’t know what God is thinking. You cannot give him advice. God does not need anything from you. You also conclude as Paul does, God is the supreme source of life and everything—only he is worthy of glory.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Are you discouraged? Read the Puritans. This is not a joke, seriously, read the Puritans. I have been discouraged lately by a number of things. The purpose of this blog post is not to get you to feel sorry for me or wonder why I am discouraged. Suffice it to say I am discouraged. I would, however, appreciate your prayers.

Get whatever distorted perception of Puritans you have out of your mind and embrace the reality: Puritans were encouraging people, pastors, writers and theologians. Feeling particularly discouraged yesterday, I picked up a devotional book I have not used in a while, Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings. My somewhat obsessively orderly personality did not allow me the luxury of just flipping through the book so I naturally turned to the entry for June 13. It was a passage from A Treatise of Afflictions by Thomas Case. Here I read,

Thus God teaches the necessity of a life of faith through our disappointments. O the bitter disappointment without faith to provide support! Faith is never disappointed; God is always better than our expectation (2 Tim. 4:17). He only lives an unchangeable life who by faith can trust in an unchangeable God. We have lived too long trusting in a life of feelings and reason. And to patch up a life between faith and feelings is not a life of faith at all. If we do not live all by faith, we do not live at all by faith.

Okay God had my attention then. I do not believe in coincidence I believe in Providence.

As if lifting up my sinking heart the day before was not enough, God decided to do it again today. The June 14 entry is also a selection from Case’s A Treatise of Afflictions. Here Case encourages us again in the life of faith.

Faith’s work is to pray for what it needs and to give thanks for what it has. Faith uses means, but trusts in God. When there are no means to use we say, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines…yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation” (Hab. 3:17-18). Faith can live upon God when there is famine in all creation. The peace of God guards the heart from all surprises of fear and trouble…If God can raise the dead, he can conquer the greatest difficulty. He can put life into dead men, life into dead hopes, and raise up our expectations from the grave of despair. He can put life into dead bones and life into dead faith.

So if you are discouraged be encouraged by the words of the Puritans. Their language may be at times archaic but it is most often elevating. God has often spoken to me through their able pens.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I Could Never Promise You

Words and Music by Don Francisco, 1977

I could never promise you on just my strength alone

That all my life I'd care for you, and love you as my own

I've never known the future, I only see today

Words that last a lifetime would be more than I could say

But the love inside my heart today is more than mine alone

It never changes, it never fails, never seeks it's own

And by the God who gives it, and who lives in me and you

I know the words I speak today are words I'm going to do

(Chorus)

And so I stand before you now for all to hear and see

I promise you in Jesus' name the love He's given me

And through the years on earth and as eternity goes by

The life and love He's given us are never going to die…

Like all humans, Donna and I were and are sinners. We promised our love to each other like every other couple taking their wedding vows yet we were different. The love inside our heart was more than ours alone. It was placed there by God.

I wish I could point to my stellar performance as a husband and father as the reason for our marital success. I cannot. My narcissistic tendency is to go into Cary’s steps for a successful marriage. I will spare you tips you could probably get in numerous marital self-help books. The reason for our marital success is God.

God taught us the real meaning of love and gave us the ability to love each other through his indwelling Holy Spirit (“And by the God who gives it, who lives in me and you”). The only reason Donna and I could make such an overwhelming promise to one another June 6, 1987 is God’s infinite ability to empower us to love one another till death do us part.

June 6, 1987 I told Donna, “I know the words I speak today are words I’m going to do.” This was not prideful arrogance—this was confidence in the God who was and is at work in me and her. Twenty-five years later this confidence in God has not weakened but grows stronger each day.

We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of Christian ministry.[1]

I heartily agree with Piper’s claim. There are business aspects of church life, but you cannot pastor like a CEO. CEOs are not shepherds.

I believe there needs to be a follow up volume to Brothers We Are Not Professionals. The follow up should be titled Brothers We Are Not American Idols. It should not need to be said. Pastors are not American Idols. They are shepherds. I believe, however, an American Idol mentality has crept into the church.

In my local area, there are pastors who have bodyguards—some denominations call them “armor bearers.” These “armor bearers” accompany the pastor wherever he goes and keep the riff raff from pressing in upon him. I have heard many comment on how many hoops they have to jump through to get an appointment with their pastor. Yesterday I discovered via Joe Carter at the Gospel Coalition Blog (here) that Pastor Ed Young a popular megachurch pastor in Houston, Texas has a new website called http://pastorfashion.com/. It is not a joke or a parody. It is a site where pastors can go to get tips on looking their best. Seriously, I am not making this stuff up. This is what I mean by the American Idol mentality.

We see a different picture of pastors and elders in Scripture:

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4, ESV)

Brothers we are not American Idols. We are shepherds. It is not a glamorous job and it is most often not glamorous work. The reward for being a faithful shepherd is, well, priceless.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Don’t get me wrong. People have been sinning since the Fall of Man. People have also been committing the same sins since the Fall of Man. There is nothing new in that respect. What is new is the lack of discretion. People post their escapades on Facebook and brag about them on Twitter. When I was a kid, people were doing the very same deeds as the miscreants in the GSA and Secret Service. They were not, however, broadcasting their misbehavior with joyful glee. There is something to be said for discretion.

The Apostle Peter predicted this:

The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (1 Pet. 4:3-5, ESV)

Sadly, one day the party will be over.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The sad thing about depravity and the Fall of Man are the effects are experienced by everyone. Whether good or bad, righteous or unrighteous everyone experiences the effects. Cancer, unfortunately, is one of the effects of depravity. Questions about fairness and why this person suffers and not that person are never sufficiently answered here.

Our only hope in experiencing the effects of depravity is the irrefutable fact that Christ has come and lived the perfect life we could never live, he died for our sins—for our depravity and all the effects of it, he was buried and was raised from the dead. He defeated death our ultimate enemy.

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:53-57)

We who are in Christ will put on a body that is not subject to the effects of depravity like cancer or disease. This is victory—this is real victory which makes any success in this world look like a failure.

Johnathan Michael Paulk (Johnny) was born March 24, 1978. The Lord took him December 25, 2003. Today would have been his 34^th birthday. Johnny was born to a scared, unwed mother who was faced with a choice. Her choice was to have our son or to kill him through abortion. I am thankful God gave her the courage to choose life and give birth to Johnny. His life was only a brief 25 years, but his life was precious in the eyes of God. His life was sacred, created in the image of God. I thank God for the gift of my son. I miss him greatly.

So for me the issue of abortion and life is personal. Abortion kills people—people like Johnny. Johnny was not fetal tissue—Johnny was my son. This is precisely why I am so passionate. This is precisely why I will stand up in the public square and call my government into account for supporting a culture of death. This is why I stand up in the public arena and call on President Obama to rescind his HHS mandate requiring religious institutions not only to provide health insurance that pays for contraception but for the morning after (abortion) pill as well. Not only is our current presidential administration supporting government sponsored murder, it is treading on our religious freedom guaranteed to us by our constitution. This is not a political issue my friends, this is a moral issue!

I am calling on pastors and Christian leaders to let your voices be heard. I am calling on the Christians in the pew to let your voices be heard. Let our government leaders know we are not going to stand for this moral wrong and injustice. Let them know we are not going to stand for this encroachment of our religious freedom. We will not obey this unjust and immoral law. Someone put it well in the “Stand Up Rally for Religious Freedom” yesterday, “We must obey God rather than man.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

(Romans 12:1-2 ESV)

I like the way my wife thinks. I am a little biased—she is my wife. This morning she asked me, “How do we present our bodies as living sacrifices?” This is a great question. It is a great question because many Christians have asked this question only to receive highly speculative answers. Not that I am immune from giving highly speculative answers, but presenting your body as a living sacrifice standing by itself is difficult to interpret. So, I thought about it for a minute and went to the context.

Romans 12 marks a great transition in the book of Romans from largely doctrinal teaching to living out the implications of doctrinal teaching. To use an overused cliché, “That is what the therefore is there for.” Sacrificing in a general sense means to give up something for a greater good. If you look carefully at Romans 12:3-21, you will see many examples of self-sacrificial behavior. It is, after all, offering our bodies as living sacrifices. Here is a brief survey:

· 12:3, Thinking soberly, not thinking of yourself too highly

· 12:4-8, Using your gifts to serve others and not yourself

· 12:9-10, Loving others genuinely, outdoing each other in showing honor

· 12:11, Not drifting into apathy

· 12:12, Patient in tribulation, constant in prayer (prayer takes time)

· 12:13, Contribute to the needs of the saints (enough said here)

· 12:14, Blessing those who persecute you

· 12:15, Rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep

· 12:16, Live in harmony

· 12:17, Do not be proud, associate with lowly people

· 12:18, If it is possible, live at peace with everyone

· 12:19, Don’t get even, leave it to God’s wrath

· 12:20, Serve your enemies

· 12:21, Overcome evil with good

Contemplating this list can be a bit overwhelming. Living in this manner is a tall order. How can one possibly live this way? Paul answers this question in verses 3 and 6 by giving us a reminder of what he has already taught in chapters 1-11 of Romans. Paul prefaces his command to think soberly in verse 3 with “for by the grace given me.” In verse 6, Paul reminds us our gifts are different “according to the grace given to us” and we are to use our gifts “in proportion to our faith.”

We can live this way by the grace given to us. This is the grace we received as a gift—the grace that justified us “through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). We live this way “in proportion to our faith.” What faith? The faith we received from hearing the gospel. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). We are often overwhelmed by looking up at this proverbial mountain of self-sacrificial behaviors in Romans 12. We need not be, however, if we remember what we have. We have grace and we have faith. With the grace given us and by the faith given us, we can present our bodies as living sacrifices.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Some people see the Bible as a collection of stories with morals for life application. But it is so much more than that. Sure, the Bible has some stories in it, but it is also full of poetry, history, codes of law and civilization, songs, prophecy, letters — even a love letter. When you tie it all together, something remarkable happens. A story is revealed. One story. The story of redemption through Jesus.

The Bible is about God saving and redeeming a people for himself. It is the grand story of redemption.

I have often been frustrated by reading Bible studies and different Sunday School curriculum. While doing my best to present Christ in all of the Scripture and tie every passage into the story of redemption in the pulpit, my efforts have been undermined by Bible studies and curriculum that try to make the Bible nothing more than a self-help book or a list of moralistic teachings. Not any more thanks to The Gospel Project.

Where are the men who will stand in the breach? Where are the weeping prophets? The prophets who know the wrath of God and the great mercy of God? The weeping prophets of old are the ones who stand in the gap between the wrath of God (i.e., the judgment of God on the sin of the people) and the great mercy of God (i.e, God’s overwhelming saving grace). Where are these men? Where have they gone?

Instead we have men who preach a wrathless God who is so infatuated with people that he sends his son to die as an example of his great love for these irresistible people. This wrathless God does not punish his Son for our sins. No, he allows his son to die as an example and not as a “sacrifice for sins” (Heb. 10:12). This is not the gospel. The people who preach this drivel are not weeping prophets. They are ear tickling narcissists who arrogantly claim to know better than over 2000 years of church doctrine and history. I just suppose the Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, and all the other leaders who followed them were mistaken in their understanding.

The Apostle Paul was a weeping prophet. He said, “Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others” (2 Cor. 5:11). Paul knew God was going to judge sin. Paul knew God was going to pour out his wrath on sin (1 Thess. 1:10). So Paul stands in the breach before the people and proclaims the true gospel. Like his Lord, Paul wept over the lost (Luke 19:41; Rom. 9:2-3). He pleaded and persuaded. Why? He pleaded and persuaded so that they could avoid the wrath to come. Paul wept at the thought any would “fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).

God send us more weeping prophets—men who know both the wrath of God and the great mercy of God.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Initially I was excited about the task force and the possibility of the name change. The founding of our convention and its association with slavery in our early history gives many people pause when considering becoming a part of a Southern Baptist church. I did not take into consideration the many legal ramifications of a name change (e.g., What if someone left an estate specifically designated for the SBC? Would the money go to the organization with the new name?). I guess this is a big reason why you have a task force—you need someone to research all the details.

I am somewhat amenable to the compromise suggested by the task force. Allowing some churches to call themselves “Great Commission Baptists” while still being associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. I do not know if this is legally the same as a company with an “official” name and operating under another name. I seem to recall some provision in the law for that.

I suppose my mixed feelings come from serving in a multiethnic community where some are offended by the “Southern” in the name Southern Baptist. This is precisely why we have to behave in such a way as believers that no one can accuse us of any of the negative stereotypes associated with the word “Southern.”

I do not celebrate the sins of my Southern Baptist forefathers. I do, however, celebrate the doctrinal integrity, commitment to the Scriptures and Great Commission emphasis of the Southern Baptist Convention. Every Christian in a SBC church needs to make this a matter of prayer. This will be an important vote in the upcoming 2012 convention in June. May God give us the wisdom to do the right thing in the best way.

Stories involving a Catholic, a Protestant and a Jew typically end with
a punch line. We wish that were the case here, but what brings us
together is no laughing matter: the threat now posed by government
policy to that basic human freedom, religious liberty.

I wholeheartedly agree. Requiring religious institutions to offer procedures in health care coverage which go against the teachings of that religion is not a laughing matter. It is indeed an assault on our religious liberty. You can read the entire article here.

I am calling on my congregation and my fellow pastors to stand against this assault on our religious freedom. When the government forces us to pay for a morning after pill, it is requiring us to support the killing of an innocent human being. If the government can require us to pay for something the Bible clearly teaches is morally wrong, what comes next? Could they then meddle in what we teach? Of course they could. As Christians, we cannot and will not obey that ruling by Health and Human Services. I am urging you to write and call our government leaders and let your voice be heard. This assault on religious freedom is also in violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

This is not simply a “health care” issue. This is a moral issue. As such, we must be the prophetic voice crying out against immorality and injustice in our government. Speak up and let your voice be heard! Also, speak up in the voting booth and make sure you do not support candidates who disregard the religious freedom of Americans.

Soli Deo Gloria!

As a pastor, however, I am allowed by IRS rules to comment on moral issues facing our country. Since the president brought up Scripture in his comments yesterday, I feel compelled to correct his misunderstanding and misuse of the Bible. In other words, this is obviously a moral issue.

It is wrong to take verses out of context. This is obviously what the president did yesterday. If you read Luke 12:48 in its context, you will notice the passage is not talking about the poor or rich people giving to the poor. It is the parable of the wise steward or manager. Each parable has a big idea. Jesus used parables to communicate spiritual truth. If you read the parable carefully, you get the big idea. The big idea of the parable of the wise steward is this: people who have been entrusted by God with many abilities and responsibilities will be held to a higher standard when Jesus returns.

There are many other passages that speak our responsibility to care for people who are genuinely poor. The parable of the wise steward is not one of them. The debate on how to best care for the poor and empower people to work and care for themselves will continue in the political arena. Caring for the poor is a moral and spiritual issue and Christians should prayerfully consider the best ways to care for and empower the poor. Yet the argument the rich should pay more taxes because Jesus said, “To whom much was given, of him much will be required,” is a dubious one.

It is also our responsibility to point out when our government officials misuse or mischaracterize the Bible. No matter who you are you are not at liberty to take verses out of context. Government leaders do not like it when we take their words out of context. Guess what? God does not like it when you take his words out of context.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Soli Deo Gloria!

And now, the Wall Street Journal has posted an article here. I find it encouraging and refreshing that a newspaper would cover the video. Most newspapers aren’t concerned with such things. Nevertheless, I think there is something missing in all the blogs and comments I have read concerning the video. Missing is any discussion concerning the reason such videos and other Christian presentations often stray into error or misleading information. I believe they stray into error because there is an obsession in contemporary Christianity with being “hip,” “cool,” or even “edgy.” Perhaps it is the postmodern younger generation’s parallel to their parents’ obsession with being relevant.

I am not saying Bethke has an obsession with being hip, cool or edgy. I do not know him nor would I judge his motivation. From his response to DeYoung’s critique, he seems like a humble, genuine follower of Christ who wants to get the message out in a creative way but also get the message out correctly. I will say, however, that often some Christian artists, pastors etc…, get sidetracked by their desire to be cool. An idea will pop into their heads they initially believe to be creative, cool or on the edge. Perhaps instead of reflecting and praying about the idea, they pursue it in haste. This often leads to inappropriate things said in the pulpit and the ambiguous presentation of important doctrinal truths. The important doctrinal truths are not clearly explained leaving new believers and immature Christians with the wrong idea (e.g., Jesus hates religion).

Most of you reading my blog are not pastors or Christian artists. You are people who love Jesus and desire to live in a way that glorifies him. My encouragement to you is to evaluate prayerfully, biblically and thoughtfully the things you watch and read before you post them or rave to others about the truth of the latest viral video. God gave you knees so pray! God gave you the Bible so read! God gave you a mind so think!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Every believer needs to be familiar with salvation history because it is the storyline of the entire Bible. The Bible is God’s story of saving and redeeming a people for himself. This story begins in Genesis. We discover why we need saving there and see the first promise of the Gospel in Genesis 3:15. The story continues in the Old Testament with God choosing a covenant people for himself and saving and delivering them. The kings of Israel and their many failures point us to the need for a perfect king who will rule over us with faithfulness. The prophets are the enforcers of God’s covenant and remind us periodically God has saved a remnant of faithful believers for himself. The prophets also point us to the Messiah to come, the suffering servant who will take our iniquity upon himself (Isa. 53:6).

The high point of salvation history is the first coming of Christ and his death, burial and resurrection “in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). The story of redemption continues in the New Testament as we see people from every nation, tongue and tribe fulfill the promise of Gen. 22:18 (cf. Gal. 3:8 and 3:16). Salvation history comes to a dramatic end in the book of Revelation where Christ is the supreme victor who comes for his people and defeats all the enemies of his kingdom.

You don’t need to be a theological scholar, but you do need to keep salvation history in mind when you are reading the Bible. Everything in the Bible is tied to salvation history. It is also wonderful to recognize how God has placed each of us who know him in his story of salvation. God literally made us a part of His-story!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Lately I am sensing that pastors are withdrawing themselves from spiritual and moral leadership in our communities. It’s not that pastors are failing to faithfully preach, teach and shepherd their congregations. I believe pastors are failing to publicly speak to moral issues in our culture. I am calling pastors to take up the mantle of spiritual leadership in their local community.

This means, of course, pastors should speak to the moral issues in their community without fearing the reaction of the community. The Apostle Paul boldly spoke with Felix about moral issues of righteousness and self-control in Acts 24:25. Jesus certainly wasn’t intimidated when he confronted the religious leaders of his day with their sin. The Old Testament prophets were consistently confronting the people of Israel and the kings of Israel with their sin. In each era of salvation history, God has sent prophets to speak to moral issues in the church and publicly in the broader community.

Yet we should do this with the same heart of Jesus, Paul and the prophets (Luke 19:41-42). We should be weeping over the sins of our cities. We should be crying out to God for mercy and that he would grant people repentance. We should not focus on one sin in particular, but speak to every sin. Why is it we evangelicals harp on certain things and not others? We harp on homosexuality but not government or corporate greed? We harp on immorality but not mistreatment of the poor? Pastors are to be prophets who faithfully proclaim the whole counsel of God.

God send us humble men who will be spiritual leaders in our churches and in our communities!

Soli Deo Gloria!

The editorial staff at the Virginian Pilot omitted my quotation of Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalts any nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” That being said, they pretty much printed it as written.

I expected my letter would create a stir. I did not write it, however, for the purpose of creating controversy or discord. I wrote it to state the truth. My only regret is using the word “vomit.” I sometimes use hyperbole a little too much when I am excited. Perhaps the word saddened is more appropriate. I am saddened by the embrace of homosexual behavior by the U. S. Navy and our culture in general.

Those who responded in the Virginian Pilot mostly just accused me of hatred and bigotry as expected. You can see today’s edition of the paper and read them for yourself. I will not respond to their accusations of bigotry and hatred. I do not need to defend myself.

I will only say this to whoever cares to read this blog. You cannot justify homosexual behavior as good or right or acceptable behavior with the Bible. The Bible clearly portrays homosexual behavior as sin. It portrays heterosexual sex outside of the boundaries of heterosexual marriage as sin also. Those who try to justify same sex marriage etc…as being okay by God twist and manipulate the Scripture to say things it does not say. Romans 1 is pretty clear:

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

(Romans 1:24-27 ESV)

I pray every man and woman, regardless of what sin or sins they have committed will turn from their sin and believe the Gospel. All of us, including me, deserve God’s wrath yet God has sent His Son to pay the penalty for our sin and to save us. I am grateful to not be treated as my sins deserve and I pray others will receive God’s grace and not be treated as their sins deserve.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This is what I think of at Christmas and what a Merry Christmas it is indeed!

Soli Deo Gloria!

1 Kings 19 (ESV)

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The road of sanctification is quite bumpy at times. In fact, it is often very uncomfortable. I like the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s (Question 35) definition of sanctification:

Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

And the heartache comes. Sometimes I shake it off and continue doing what I am doing. Sometimes I can’t and the tears come. Some would say this means I have not recovered from his death. Some would say I am still grieving. I say I am just being who God created me to be. I am a Father who has lost a son. I am a Father who still feels the sting of death. I am okay with this because I know this sting is not permanent.

Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:54-57)

Christ has won the victory for me. One day this heartache will never visit me again.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I often feel like the thief on the cross—the thief who said to the other thief who mocked Jesus,

One of the Republican presidential candidates made a comment about the recent earthquake in Virginia and Hurricane Irene. The candidate said something to the effect that God was trying to get our attention with these events. The candidate, of course, was lampooned by many in the media.

I cannot say with certainty whether or not God was trying to get our attention by the earthquake and hurricane Irene. I can say that these events certainly got my attention. How many earthquakes do you have in Virginia? I believe the last one was in 1897. Hurricanes are more common in Virginia than perhaps the Northeast; nevertheless, they do catch your attention when they blow through. I do know that God in his providence allowed these events to take place. It’s not as if he was up there in heaven saying, “Oops! I didn’t see that one coming!”

I can say God has been trying to get our attention through his creation since the beginning of time. The psalmist says,

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)

The Apostle Paul says,

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. (Romans 1:18-20)

“Hello people!” says God’s creation. Are we paying attention? God’s eternal power and divine nature can be perceived from the winds of the hurricane and the shaking of the earth in which he has created. The eternal power of God is screaming at us from the beautiful reddish pink sky at night as the sun sets. Are we paying attention?

Sadly, many are not paying attention. God’s verdict, “They are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). God is trying to get your attention every day. Just look around you. Just look outside. Are you paying attention?

Soli Deo Gloria!

I am concerned as a pastor because I see another bad trend. I see the needs in our community rising at the same time I see contributions declining. It is not just our church. It is happening in many churches. Our government has discovered painfully that the constitution says “promote the general welfare” and not provide for the general welfare. The only thing the government is to provide for according to the Preamble of our constitution is the common defense. It might sound compassionate to provide everyone with a job, with healthcare etc…but it is not economically possible. People in America, unfortunately, have become dependent on the government to take care of them.

I am concerned because at just the moment when I see a time for the Church to step in and help the poor and needy in real compassionate ways that treat human beings with dignity (not with merely a handout which only makes them more dependent) the Church is not financially capable of providing compassionate care for the poor and needy in our communities. People in the pews are not giving—it’s just that simple. Most churches, sadly, cannot even provide compassionate financial care for their own members.

This is the desperate plea of a concerned pastor—a pastor who is concerned for his congregation and concerned for the people who are suffering in our community. Are there any Macedonian type Christians left in America (2 Cor. 8:3)? Christians who will give not just according to their means but beyond their means as well? Christians who will demonstrate their dependence on God to provide for them by being radically generous? I pray so. I pray there are still some Macedonian Christians left.

I am frankly tired of hearing my fellow conservative friends opine about the ever increasing size of government, the fiscal crisis and government debt while holding onto their wallets as if they are the very ones who fill their wallets. Have we forgotten who the real provider is? I hope not. I pray not.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Are human beings infinitely sinful? Well the answer is yes and no. Unregenerate human beings apart from Jesus Christ are infinitely sinful. Should they live forever on earth, which we know they will not, they would sin and continue to desire to sin. They do die eventually and suffer eternal punishment for their infinite sinfulness.

Regenerate human beings are fully justified by Christ’s perfect life and sacrificial death on the cross. We are made right in the eyes of God. Progressively throughout the life of a believer in Christ, they are being made more and more like Jesus (sanctification) (2 Cor. 3:18). When believers are with Christ in heaven and receive their glorified body in the resurrection, they will not be sinful anymore in any way whatsoever. They will be like Christ (1 John 3:2).

So the answer is yes and no. Yes you are infinitely sinful if you are apart from Christ. No, you are not infinitely sinful if you are in Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria!

When I read the words “contend for the faith,” my heart is stirred to action. Anyone who truly knows Christ and is a part of “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” should sense this call to action. I must offer, however, a word of caution. You must be established in the faith before you make a serious attempt to contend for the faith.

By contending for the faith, I am not referring to sharing the gospel message (i.e., the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for our salvation and justification). I am referring to defending, to fully explaining and proclaiming not only the gospel, but all the implications of the gospel. When someone is new to “the faith,” they may be able to share the gospel but they are probably not in a position to “contend for the faith.” Something must happen before they arrive at a place where they can be a contender for the faith.

Paul’s instruction to the Colossian Christians explains what must happen before a Christian gets to the place where they can “contend for the faith.” He writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

(Col. 2:6-7, ESV)

Initially we receive Christ Jesus the Lord. Then we are to “walk in him” in the same manner we received him (i.e., by grace through faith). Then we are to be “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.” It should be obvious that before people can contend for the faith, they must be “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.”

If new believers in Christ, for instance, attempt to contend for the faith with their friend who is involved in a cult, they may find themselves ill-equipped. They may be easily confused and deceived through the manipulative methods of cults into believing “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” is not really “THE” faith after all.

If you are a new believer in Christ, therefore, I exhort you to be established in the faith. This is your first priority as a new believer. Seek out your elders, your pastor, or a mature church member to disciple you in the basics of the faith. Become rooted and built up in Christ and get a little mileage on the road of walking with Christ before you attempt to contend for the faith. If you do so, you will protect yourself from deception and needless confusion.

Soli Deo Gloria!

It was refreshing, though, to see the opposite picture of love when I visited one of our senior saints this week. She greeted us at the door smiling and cheerful as usual. She speaks of everything she is doing without complaint and yes, with joy. What is she doing? Well, she is caring for her husband who is suffering with dementia. By God’s grace, she is healthy and capable to care for his needs at home. She bathes him, comforts him and reassures him even when he does not remember what happened just a few moments ago. In other words, she loves him. She could have easily thought only of herself and the inconvenience involved in caring for him at home but she doesn’t. She thinks of him. She loves and honors and cherishes him and no doubt will continue to until death do them part.

This is love. This is real love. You cannot find it in a tabloid or splashed across the screen. It is hidden away from sight. She loves without the applause of people. Why does she do it? How does she do it? She loves because Christ loves her. And because Christ loves her, she can love her husband.

Soli Deo Gloria!

At one point in the sermon, he mentioned how different generations approach the truth. Since I am relying on memory, this is not a direct quote. In reference to truth, he said, “The builder generation asked is it true? The boomer generation asked does it work? (I cannot remember what he said about the buster generation.) The millennial generation (today’s generation) asks how will it make me look if I buy into this truth?”

This is an accurate description of contemporary youth in American culture. I have previously blogged about the rampant narcissism of the millennial generation. The question is how do we engage the millennial generation and our contemporary culture of narcissism with the truth of the gospel? My fleshly tendency is to just call them a bunch of self-centered ingrates, but this is not really a great opening for the gospel.

I believe we can compassionately engage this generation by showing them the end result of narcissistic thinking and living. It is merely a symptom of their total depravity and will lead to destruction, alienation and ultimately God’s wrath. Rather than pervert the Gospel and tell them how good it will make them look, we need to redirect their focus on the truth. The Gospel is about God and how he looks. The Gospel is about the God who came looking for his lost sheep and found them. The Gospel is about the God who poured out his wrath and punishment for my sin upon his own son. The Gospel is about the God who brought his Son out of the grave for my justification. The Gospel is about the God who has prepared a place for his people. This God looks wonderful and beautiful beyond words. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth [including us] will look strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

(Galatians 1:6-9, ESV)

Astonished rightly describes my mood of late. Like the Apostle Paul I am astonished that quite a few people of late “are so quickly deserting him who called [them] in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.” First it was American Christendom’s love affair with The Shack by William Young. This book butchered the doctrine of the Trinity and denied such essential doctrines as the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ. Now many in the American Church are all mushy over Rob Bell’s Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. In his book, Bell essentially attempts to rewrite settled Church doctrine concerning Hell and God’s wrath. There have been numerous critiques (Kevin DeYoung’s Critique is the most thorough) and outcries from the sane in the Evangelical community.

Is it just me or is there really a serious questioning and abandoning of orthodox cardinal doctrines of Christianity lately? I am astonished, seriously, really astonished. When I read the words of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 1:6-9, I grieve for the William Youngs and Rob Bells of the world. I am astonished and sad.

Soli Deo Gloria!

It was not the minister’s eulogy that moved me. His eulogy was rather formal and pedestrian. It was the few words the grieving husband uttered over his wife’s closed casket that moved me. He said, “My love for Mabel is the kind of love (he paused a moment here to collect himself)…well…it is a love that will last into eternity.” This is why I am glad I went to that funeral—to hear those words and to watch a man of faith and a man of endurance pray for himself and his family at the freshly dug grave of his wife of 61 years. That’s right, I said 61 years. Ted and Mabel Miller know something about endurance. After the funeral, I said to my wife Donna, “When I grow up, I want to be like Ted Miller. They just don’t make men like him anymore.” Ted is the real deal—he is genuine. I want to be a man like Ted Miller. I want to be a husband and a father like Ted Miller—a man who endures in the faith. Happy Father’s Day!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Social justice—these words conjure up diverse reactions. Some hear “socialism” and others hear “compassion.” Some hear “social gospel” and others hear “this is the gospel.” I am not going to debate those issues. I am simply going to encourage evangelical, Bible believing Christians to stop letting social and theological liberals hijack social justice.

I believe the biblical approach to social justice is balanced. It neither ignores human need and suffering nor does it subsidize irresponsible behavior. In addition to their debauchery, the people of Sodom were guilty of an equally heinous sin, “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” (Ezek. 16:49). Equally wrong is enabling sinful behavior, “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). For those who are able but just plain lazy, we are to allow them to experience the consequences of their sin (i.e., hunger). This is harsh to some, but it is biblical.

I believe human suffering and poverty is best addressed by the church. The roots of poverty and suffering are not simply the results of economic injustice. No one is helped by just throwing money at the problem. Also people are not helped when we subsidize their irresponsibility. We must do good works unto the poor and needy so they will in turn glorify our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). This is why we help the poor and needy—for God’s glory. Additionally, we seek to address their sin and need of salvation. We dig deep to get to the roots of generations of poverty, addiction or whatever the issues may be. We don’t just give money and food and then “feel good about ourselves.” We go deeper. We must go deeper. We want to equip people “to aspire to live quietly, and to mind [their] own affairs, and to work with [their] own hands, as we instructed [them], so that [they] may walk properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thess. 4:11-12).

Soli Deo Gloria!

All my life long I had panted

For a drink from some cool spring

That I hoped would quench the burning

Of the thirst I felt within.

(Chorus) Hallelujah! He has found me,

The One my so long has craved!

Jesus satisfies all my longings

Through his blood I now am saved.

Feeding on the filth around me

Till my strength was almost gone.

Longed my soul for something better

Only still to hunger on.

Poor I was and sought for riches

Something that would satisfy.

But the dust I gathered round me

Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.

Well of water ever springing

Bread of Life so rich and free.

Untold wealth that never faileth

My Redeemer is to me.

You can listen to the hymn here. Listen and be blessed—Jesus can satisfy all your longings!

Soli Deo Gloria!

O light that followest all my way,

I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

May you trace the rainbow through the rain and see God's promise is never vain. Soli Deo Gloria!

After making his appeal, Paul makes an interesting statement in verse 21. He says to Philemon, “Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.” Paul does not say, “Do this or else!” On the contrary, Paul is confident Philemon will not only obey but do even more. In other words, Paul expected Philemon to obey, to do the right thing, and even to excel in his obedience.

We have to wonder why Paul expected Philemon to obey. I suspect it was Paul’s normal expectation that all genuine believers in Christ would obey Christ. He knew Philemon was a genuine believer because Philemon lived like a genuine believer (see vv. 4-7). Philemon loved people, shared his faith in Christ and refreshed his fellow believers. Philemon is a great picture of what a Christian in action looks like.

Pastor what do you expect of your congregation especially the ones who are genuine believers? Do you expect them to grow—to obey Christ and even to excel? Genuine follower of Christ what do you expect of yourself? Do you expect obedience to Christ? Do you expect to excel in love?

Church it is time we raise our expectations. If we really know Christ as Savior and Lord, we will obey and we will grow. We will excel—not because of our own self-discipline—but because of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He causes our growth and makes us progressively more and more like Christ. So, what do you expect?

Soli Deo Gloria!

They were supposed to pray with him. They fell asleep.

It was a good Friday.

They came and took him like a common criminal. Peter drew the sword and came to his defense falsely assuming his kingdom was of this world.

It was a good Friday.

Falsely accused by those paid to do the Devil’s bidding, tried by cowards and men without morals.

It was a good Friday.

He was mocked and humiliated, beaten like an unwanted dog. He said nothing, just absorbed every blow.

It was a good Friday.

He was hung on a cross—a slow, cruel capital punishment.

It was a good Friday.

He cried out to his Father—silence from heaven—nothing but darkness.

It was a good Friday.

Mary wept and John comforted her.

It was a good Friday.

“It is finished,” he said.

It was a good Friday.

They took him down from the cross and laid him in Joseph’s tomb.

It was a good Friday.

He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

It was a good Friday indeed!

Soli Deo Gloria!

When approaching Hebrews 6, it is easy to approach it from the perspective of defending a theological position—the theological position of eternal security/perseverance of the saints or the opposite position of being saved and losing your salvation. My position and I am convinced it is a biblical position is for eternal security. When you look at Hebrews 6:1-12, you will discover the author’s purpose it not necessarily to defend one position or the other. I believe his purpose is to encourage believers to persevere in their faith.

Key to understanding the author’s purpose is verse 9: “Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.” I believe this pastor (I’m convinced he was a pastor) who wrote Hebrews under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wanted to encourage his people. After talking about “those” who fall away, he was “sure of better things—things that belong to salvation” for the people he was addressing. He was not trying to scare his people into acting right with all his talk of falling away. Rather he was encouraging them by telling them they were not like those who fall away. They were genuine believers. He supports this by acknowledging their faithfulness in verse 10. Sure, this argues for eternal security but that is just a secondary purpose of the passage.

I encourage you, therefore, to allow Scripture to speak for itself. In other words, don’t approach a passage with the intent of defending your theological position. Your position may or may not be biblical. Approach a passage with the intent of allowing God to speak to you from the passage. You might be surprised in what you learn.

Soli Deo Gloria!

A recent study on Religion and Weight Loss by Northwestern University concluded young adults who attend religious services regularly were more likely to become obese than those who didn’t. A MSNBC article quotes the lead researcher in the study:

Our main finding was that people with a high frequency of religious participation in young adulthood were 50 percent more likely to become obese by middle age than those with no religious participation in young adulthood.[1]

I believe it is too soon to conclude that religious participation causes obesity. I believe the study just shows that the American church is a reflection of what is going on in America. Lately, there have been many news stories informing us that America is becoming a more obese nation.

I do not believe it speaks highly of the church to say we are a reflection of what is going on in the wider culture of America. I believe our problem is we have what Jerry Bridges calls “respectable sins.” Bridges writes, “On the whole, we appear to be more concerned about the sins of society than we are the sins of the saints. In fact, we often indulge in what I call the ‘respectable’ or even ‘acceptable’ sins without any sense of sin.”[2] Bridges goes on to list some of these sins we tolerate like anxiety, pride, discontentment, unthankfulness and gives us gospel centered ways of dealing with these sins.

I believe gluttony is one of our “respectable sins.” Bridges identifies three areas where Christians often fail to exercise self-control. The first area is eating and drinking. He writes,

Let me say right away that I am not singling out those who have a so-called “weight problem.” That may or may not be due to a lack of self-control. One of the most self-controlled men I have ever known struggled with his weight all his adult life. On the other hand, some who can eat what they please without gaining weight may, because of that fact, fail to exercise self-control in their eating and drinking…What I am addressing is our lack of self-control—a tendency to indulge our desires so that they control us, instead of controlling those desires.[3]

I agree with Bridges in that some people have biological reasons why they struggle with weight issues. These should be addressed under the care of a physician; however, the majority of our weight problems in the church are due to a failure to exercise self-control.

I must confess I have probably contributed to the acceptability of overeating with my jokes in the pulpit about fried chicken being the Baptist State Bird. I repent, therefore, in sackcloth and ashes. Seriously, I believe it is time we address the problem of gluttony/lack of self-control in the church in a compassionate, gospel-centered manner.

Everyone does not need to be a fitness fanatic or eat like a gerbil. We do need to come alongside one another and hold each other accountable in our struggles with self-control. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23) and is categorically not a matter of self-discipline. Some people are more self-disciplined than others. Exercising self-control is chiefly a matter of accessing the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

The indwelling Holy Spirit is the one who gives us the power to walk away from the food (whatever your favorite comfort food is) and see that God is the only source of true comfort, joy and satisfaction. This is never an easy thing to do and please avoid those who say it is easy. Additionally, your struggles with weight may require that you seek professional help in the area of nutrition and exercise. If you cannot afford that, seek out someone in the church who is knowledgeable and successful in this area.

In the spirit of self-disclosure, my struggle with weight has not been difficult. I have lost and gained and lost 20-30 vanity pounds. I am now at a healthy weight and eating a healthier diet and exercising regularly. I am trying to be a better example to my congregation. I must also confess that I could not do what I am doing in exercise unless someone was pushing me. I am not high on the self-discipline scale. I just want to encourage you to do what you need to do to be healthy. We cannot control how long we live or stop the aging process but we can sure enjoy the time God has given us on this planet. The healthier you are the more you will enjoy the time God has given you here.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The Worthy Community

I encourage you to take time to listen to this message. The big idea is we do not live up to the Gospel but we live out of the Gospel. Have a great weekend!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Soli Deo Gloria!

The one aspect of my salvation that shines forth in songs about the cross is the last words of Jesus, “It is finished.” It is done. There is nothing left for you to do regarding your salvation. It is accomplished. This is such great news to me! I like to remind myself of the finality of my salvation every day.

“It is finished. You are saved,” Jesus declares.

“But how do I get saved? I ask.

“You simply believe what I have already accomplished for you,” Jesus replies.

“But what do I have to do to be saved?” I ask incredulously.

“You do not have to do anything. I have done it all.” Jesus replies.

“Nothing?” I ask again.

“Nothing just enjoy what I have provided.” Jesus replies.

“Okay, but don’t I have to do something to maintain or keep my salvation?” I wonder aloud.

“If you could not do anything to accomplish your salvation, do you think you could do anything to keep it?” Jesus asks.

“I see your point,” I reply.

Then I remember what Jesus said. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:29-30). It is finished! Go, therefore, and enjoy the rest he has provided this weekend!

Soli Deo Gloria!

I am not a health expert so do not take my ramblings as if I really know what I am talking about. I am a husband, father, pastor and theologian in that order. I speak, therefore, as a pastor and theologian on this blog.

I have never really loved to exercise. I do, however, like the way I feel and look after consistent exercise. I have more energy and I do not have to always buy “relaxed fit” pants. I certainly cannot claim to be consistent in exercise. Throughout my life, there have been ebbs and flows of exercise. I am now in a flow period of exercise, that is, I am exercising consistently and eating healthier.

God is completely sovereign and he has numbered my days. My lifespan on this earth is indeed fleeting and a mere breath (Psalm 39:4-6). I suppose I could be a fatalist and wear out the couch and the refrigerator, but this would be an insult to the God who is sovereign. I choose to glorify God in my body. I choose to eat and live in a way that brings the most glory to God. In case you are wondering, I do not believe purposely living in an unhealthy manner is glorifying to God. I would like to enjoy the health God gives me for as long as God has determined for me to live.

We do not need to have the “perfect” bodies (whatever that is) or obsessively work out and worship ourselves in the mirror. Yet there is something all of us can do. We can exercise a little more portion control at the table and stop comforting ourselves with food. We can walk or do something. You might not love exercise like me but I imagine you do not love being sick either. God, in his infinite mercy and grace, has given us the means to take care of ourselves during our brief sojourns on this old earth. We look forward to the new heaven and new earth where our bodies will not decay. In the meantime, however, take care of yourself. After you finish reading this blog, put your laptop away. Get out of the house and do something at least mildly physical. And please, stop supersizing everything.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Some of my Christian friends, however, take American exceptionalism a step further. They say America is “favored” by God. I am probably going to ruffle some feathers, but I do not believe America is any more favored by God than other nations. The only “favored” group of people in the Scriptures is God’s people. Consider the following examples:

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6 ESV)

Lest you think that only applies to the nation of Israel, consider this:

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 ESV)

God’s people (from Old Testament to New Testament) are those whom he has chosen out of “all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” They are not chosen because they are unique or special as opposed to the rest of the people on the planet. They are not chosen due to anything good within them. They are chosen simply because of God’s amazing grace. Therefore, Arab Christians, Dutch Afrikaner Christians, Zulu Christians, Chinese Christians, Ashkenazi Christians, Kyrgyz Christians, Hungarian Christians, Egyptian Christians etc… as well as American Christians are “favored” by God.

The United States is not a Christian nation. Sure, we were founded by many believing Christians and Judeo-Christian values are integrated throughout our government and way of life, but we are not a Christian nation by any stretch of the imagination. America does not get a special status from God when it comes to his judgment and wrath. America and Americans who “presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience” and refuse to repent, are “storing up wrath” for themselves “on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:4-5).

Soli Deo Gloria!

In my pride, I like to think I have a lot to do with church growth. I tend to overemphasize my role. I am a servant just like Paul and Apollos. I cannot make the church grow. All I can do is plant or water—God causes and gives the growth. He adds to the number of the church (Acts 2:47) and I do not.

I do not use this as excuse to avoid sharing the gospel nor do I allow discouragement over lack of response keep me from planting and watering. I am a servant. I have no right to complain to my Master that he is bringing the growth too slowly. I do not alter the message in hopes to attract more people. An altered message is not the message. It is a corrupted message and another gospel. We have no right to bring any gospel other than the gospel which was given to us. Preaching another gospel is serious and it deserves the curse of God (Gal. 1:8-9).

May God keep us faithful to the gospel Paul and the Apostles preached—the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria!

“For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14).

Parables are like jokes. Many are not funny by any stretch of the imagination, but like jokes parables have punch lines. The punch line of the parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22 is verse 14. Toward the end of the parable, someone manages to get into the wedding feast without a wedding garment. This unfortunate person is cast into the outer darkness where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 22:13). Then Jesus bluntly summarizes the parable by saying, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Perhaps you think Jesus’ statement a bit harsh. After all, the poor guy’s only offense was not having a wedding garment. Maybe he could not afford one. Maybe someone stole his garment. The text does not say. It only says when confronted, “He was speechless.” Parables are not to be taken literally. Obviously, they are stories which communicate spiritual truths. So what is Jesus communicating with his abrupt ending to this parable?

We can safely assume everyone had a wedding garment except for one person. Why is it such a big deal to have on the wrong clothes when appearing before the King who is obviously Jesus? Isaiah 61:10 answers this question:

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Only those who are clothed with “garments of salvation” and covered with “the robe of righteousness” can appear before the holy and righteous King Jesus.

Many hear the general call of God to turn from their sins and turn to Jesus for salvation and righteousness. But if you compare the number who hears this general call of God to the ones who respond in genuine faith, you will discover the number who does not respond is much greater than those who do respond in genuine faith. “For many are called but few are chosen.”

The meaning of Jesus is clear. Those who are chosen will respond in faith to his call and be present at the wedding feast clothed in the righteousness of Christ alone. They would never show up to this feast clothed in their own filthy rags—their pathetic attempts at being righteous. They show up in the garments of salvation which Christ has placed on them. These are the elect of God known by him since the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).

How can one know whether or not they are one of the chosen before they die? To answer that question you must affirmatively answer a few questions: (1) Did you hear the good news of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection to make you righteous and give you a new life? (2) Did you respond in genuine faith and trust to that message by confessing your sins and asking Christ to save you? (3) Do you have a growing hatred of sin in your life and a growing practice of righteous behavior in your life? (4) Are the fruit of the Spirit present in increasing measures in your life (Gal. 5:22-23)?

Answering no to any of those questions should make you examine your heart and repent. If by God’s grace you can answer yes to all those questions, it should humble you. You should not be prideful as if to say, “Hey, I’m one of the chosen and you’re not!” It should cause you to thank God for his mercy he gives new to you every morning (Lam. 3:22-23). It is by His Spirit that we grow in righteous behavior (2 Thess. 2:13). The Holy Spirit produces the fruit in the life of a believer. We are simply trees who bear righteous fruit because we are “rooted and built up in him” (Col. 2:6-7).

Are you one of the chosen? Or are you one of the many who are called? Are you thinking you can show up to the feast at the last minute with whatever you have on? Think again, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

I am a fan of Alistair Begg. To be honest, I was first intrigued by his Scottish accent. Then as I listened to him more, I developed a deep appreciation for his faithful exposition of the Word.

The podcast I listened to today was from his series in Titus. It was from the message “Danger: Keep Out!” I was reminded of the importance of biblical preaching and teaching from the pulpit. Begg maintains that discipleship can happen from the pulpit and I agree. The Christian’s weekly Sunday feast comes from the pulpit on Sunday. Of course, this should be followed up with personal study throughout the week. This is why it is important, I believe, to take notes on the sermons you hear. Much of what we learn and much of our growth comes from reflecting and praying on what we have heard. As we reflect on the sermon, we must ask God, “What do you want me to believe or to do in response to this sermon?”

I do believe discipleship also takes place one-on-one (i.e., a mature believer teaching a younger believer). Sometimes this is better but it should not take the place of the Sunday feast or weekly teaching from your pastor. Teaching and Preaching are his primary responsibilities according to Scripture (Acts 6:4). So show up on Sundays ready to worship, listen and apply what you hear. What good is a tasty meal if no one eats it?

Soli Deo Gloria!

In preparing for this Sunday’s message from Hebrews 2:5-9, I was reminded of the wonder and significance of humans. The author quotes Psalm 8:4-6 in verses 6-8:

What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for

him? You made him for a little while lower than the angel; you have crowned

him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

I am reminded, of course, of God’s great care through common grace for the pinnacle of creation: humans. I am also reminded of how far we have fallen from God’s original intent for us as human beings. The author of Hebrews makes this clear in verse 8, “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.”

Something indeed is wrong in this world. Humans do not rule and reign as God’s vice regents. We were created to have dominion over creation. We were created to be rulers who are subject to God’s rule. We rebelled against God’s rule and according to Hebrews 2:8, everything seems to be out of control.

Christ came and made it possible for us to rule and reign under him again. He came to restore us to God’s original intent for us as humans. We will not realize this fully until we are in the “new world to come” (Heb. 2:5). We do, however, enjoy some of the benefits of this great salvation in the present. We have faith. We have the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). Unbelievers do not have this assurance or conviction. A great majority of people are not sure of anything and stand for nothing.

Knowing what I know about God’s original intent for humans, I am convicted by my lack of urgency in proclaiming the good news that Christ came to restore this original intent. This is good news. This is news which must be shared at every opportunity. We are not significant merely because we are humans. Rather, we are significant because God created us. We are significant because of what Jesus is doing in us to restore us to God’s original intent for us. I cannot wait for this “new world to come.” I am also eager to share what Jesus has done to bring us to this new world.

Soli Deo Gloria!

We wish you:

Enough sun to keep your attitude bright,

Enough rain to appreciate the sun more,

Enough happiness to keep your spirit alive,

Enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger,

Enough gain to satisfy your wanting,

Enough loss to appreciate all that you possess,

Enough hellos to get you through the final goodbyes,

Enough of God’s love and peace to fill your life and keep you complete in Him.

There is so much wisdom packed in these few words.

Soli Deo Gloria!

No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Pet. 1:20-21).

The phrase “breathed out by God” in 2 Tim. 3:16 is the ESV translation of theopneustos. It is a combination of Theos (God) and Pneuma (wind or Spirit). The doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture is best described by Peter, “Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The Word of God, the Bible, came into existence through the revelatory power of the Holy Spirit. You could say the Word came into being through pneumatic power.

I have been in church settings, not recently, where a distinction was made between preaching, teaching, reading the Word aloud and being led by the Spirit. In other words, a distinction was made between the ministry of the Word and the ministry of the Spirit. This was an unfortunate and error ridden distinction. Nothing could be more Spirit-led than preaching, teaching and reading and hearing the Word of God. Please do not misunderstand. Surely preaching and teaching and reading and hearing the Word of God can be done in the flesh. When done in accordance with Scripture, however, preaching, teaching, reading and hearing the Word of God is Holy Spirit anointed.

We are born again by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit lives within us as believers. The Holy Spirit also empowers us for Christian living and gives us gifts of the Spirit for the edification of the body of Christ and the glory of God. The Holy Spirit gives us understanding of the Word of God. Paul exhorts us to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Instead of being drunk with wine, we are to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit (i.e., controlled by Him).

Consider the following scenario. A pastor who is “filled with the Spirit” gets up to preach from God’s Spirit inspired Word. The Spirit-filled believer sits before the pastor in the congregation listening intently. What happens? The Pneumatic power of the Word of God descends upon the place and blows into the Spirit-filled believer. The Apostle Paul describes such an encounter this way, “My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Cor. 2:4). The Holy Spirit powerfully works through the proclamation of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit demonstrated his power through the sermon of Paul.

The ministry of the Word is a Spirit led endeavor. It is just as Spirit led as exercising any of the spiritual gifts. For the record, I believe Scripture affirms the continuation of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We should never claim that one is more spiritual than the other. To do so, would be to grieve the Holy Spirit whom we claim is leading us.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I recently returned from the SBCV (Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia) Annual Homecoming. There were two profound moments for me.

The first was when we sang the hymn “In Christ Alone.” It is always wonderful when four to five hundred voices are singing together in unison. It was a special moment for me. God reminded me what really matters in the first line of that hymn. “In Christ alone, my hope is found.” Regardless of my perceived success or failure as a pastor, my hope is found in Christ and in him alone. Success is always measured by faithfulness to Christ and his word alone.

The second profound moment was the theme challenge by Dr. Brian Autry. The headliner speakers were good, but Brian’s challenge impacted me the most. His message was simple to pastors, “We are ministers of the Gospel.” He had us repeat this over and over, “I am a minister of the Gospel.” This is my identity. I am a minister of the Gospel. I and my brother pastors have the most important job in the world. We also have the greatest privilege in the world. We get to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is not greater joy on earth than to be what God has called me to be.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I would say, for an example, that by definition Christians must never become too excited about politics, and for this reason, that they know perfectly well that there is no solution to the ultimate problem of mankind in politics. So people who believe that, as a result of a win for one party rather than another at an election everything is going to be fundamentally different—those people are either not Christians or else they are very ignorant ones. No; nothing that can happen at an election will touch this problem. The parties are all equally in sin; they are all under the domination of sin.

Now, Christians should be concerned about these things; they have a duty as citizens, and let them exercise it. But if they become too excited, if they believe that one rather than the other is going to make the vital difference, they have never seen the truth about the world.

Amen, Doctor! Amen!

Soli Deo Gloria!

I thank you Joel Morgan for showing me how to undergo opposition with grace. I thank you also for the books you gave me when you retired. I am still using them today.

I thank you Jimmy Meads for showing me how to love people. I thank you also for showing me how to be a little country church. I appreciate you greatly.

I thank you Bobby Hill for teaching me leadership sometimes demands doing the things you do not necessarily like to do nor are good at. You made me believe I could do things I never thought I could do. Look at me now—I’m a pastor!

I thank you Dan Backens for teaching me to be intentional about mission and vision. You told us who we were as a church and what we were going to do—and you intentionally led us in doing it.

Each of these men greatly encouraged me. I would not be the pastor I am without their influence and guidance. Their legacy of leadership is bearing fruit through me and will no doubt bear fruit through the men and women God places under my care.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This brings me to the illegal immigration issue in the United States. Recently our congressional leadership invited comedian Stephen Colbert to testify on the immigration issue. My first concern is what makes Stephen Colbert qualified to testify on this issue? All he did was visit illegal migrant farm workers for one day in preparation for his comedy show. Does this make him qualified? The answer should be obvious.

To make matters worse, Colbert launched into his comedy routine instead of offering serious testimony. When people’s lives and property are at stake, seriousness is expected. Colbert should have never been invited. I am glad some in Congress have acknowledged their mistake in inviting Colbert.

It is morally repugnant that the issues of illegal immigration, enforcing the border and immigration reform are seen as fodder for jokes. I am not laughing. People are entering our country illegally and this is morally wrong. Our federal government is not protecting our citizens by enforcing the borders. This is morally wrong.

Many in our country are morally outraged and rightly so. There are victims of this insanity everywhere. Citizens who own property adjacent to the border with Mexico homes and lives are being threatened. Some have lost their lives. Drug smugglers and kidnappers coming into Arizona to the extent they have made Phoenix the kidnap capital of the United States. Poor people in Mexico are being abused by criminals (coyotes) who sap them for whatever money they have to smuggle them in the United States. All of this is morally reprehensible.

The economy, of course, is the major issue our government faces and immigration is on the back burner. We should not, however, treat serious moral issues such as illegal immigration with levity. Laughter is good medicine; however, laughter is not always appropriate.

Pursuing moral purity is a lifelong pursuit. We do not pursue moral purity in order to be with Jesus. We pursue moral purity because we are with Jesus. We are in Christ. We pursue moral purity because of who we are in Christ.

It is every pastor’s dream. He dreams of a congregation of eager listeners studiously scribbling notes as he preaches. He dreams of hearing sighs of sadness from the congregation when his sermons end. At the end of the service, the pastor dreams of hearing the congregation exclaim in unison, “More please!” He dreams of receiving emails and phone calls during the week asking for clarification on a sermon point or sharing an insight from God’s word. This is, however, just a dream in most churches.

I suppose this was not a dream in the synagogue at Berea. This congregation was described as “more noble” than other congregations. What was the reason for their increased nobility? The reason is “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” In other words, they went home after the sermon and studied the applicable Scriptures to see if Paul was giving it to them straight. Or to put it another way, they did their homework. Are you doing your homework?

Homework entails more than merely studying the passage from the previous Sunday’s sermon. It involves preparing for the following Sunday. It involves reading and studying the passage for the upcoming message. This is only possible, of course, if your pastor is preaching through a series in a book or he announces his sermon texts beforehand. I usually preach through books and large sections of the Bible, but I sometimes preach on biblical texts without announcing them beforehand. This is going to change, however, as I plan to begin announcing the following Sunday’s sermon text in the bulletin and on Facebook.

I encourage you, therefore, as a dreaming pastor. Do your homework this week. Surprise your pastor by “receiving the word with all eagerness.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

Generosity cannot be legislated or forced. Generosity must come from a changed heart. According to research from the Barna Group, 29% of Americans have reduced their giving to churches. David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, commented on the donor environment. “Barring a significant event or shift, the prospects for a recovery of charitable giving during 2010 appear dim. The supply of donation dollars is not likely to meet the demand from nearly 1.5 million nonprofit organizations. Even while some financial indicators show signs of life, most Americans are very concerned about the country’s long-term economic prospects and seem to be tightening budgets and scrimping on donations.”

What does the New Testament say about giving during times of economic downturn? Consider the Macedonian church:

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

The biblical standard for giving during times of economic recession is generosity. It is giving according to and beyond your means. Even during times of hardship, Paul encourages the Macedonian church to excel in the grace of giving.

It probably makes no sense to many to increase and excel in giving during times of hardship. Unfortunately, trimming budgets and cutting spending also means reducing giving to God’s work through the local church to some people. This is not the biblical standard, however. The biblical standard is to excel in giving even in extreme poverty. Why? We excel in giving because we have a God who provides in times of plenty and in times of want (Phil. 4:19).

Again, generosity cannot be forced or manipulated nor should it be. Giving, nevertheless, must be encouraged. I encourage you not to be part of the 29% who reduce their giving. (By the way, only 7% give 10% or more.) Do not be part of the 93% who give little or not at all. Demonstrate your trust in God’s provision by excelling in your giving. Be generous with what you have. I am confident God will provide for you and I know God always provides for his church.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Meanwhile the crack widened and the leak got worse. The experts then decided they needed new uniforms for their important work. One group of experts wanted orange uniforms. Another group of experts wanted blue uniforms. A third group of the experts wanted green uniforms. The group of experts argued for many weeks over the uniform issue. They were caught up so much in the uniform issue that no work was done on the leak. The crack got wider and wider. The leak was now causing some flooding.

The community demanded the experts do something about the crack in the dam and fix the leak. It seemed the more the community cried out for action, the more the experts argued with one another over their uniforms. Meanwhile the crack in the dam burst wide open and the water flooded the community. Many lives were lost and property damaged. What happened to the experts? Their nice little headquarters building was left unscathed because it was on higher ground, of course. The experts sat smugly safe inside and continued to argue over their uniforms. They didn’t even notice the devastation or hear the cries of the perishing outside.

(c) 2010 Dr. Cary M. Paulk

Soli Deo Gloria!

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Many know the story behind this beloved hymn. Horatio Spafford loses his four daughters in a tragic accident at sea. While Spafford was traveling to comfort his grieving wife who survived the accident, he was inspired to write these timeless words.

The providence of God is bittersweet at times. We experience incredible times of peace, and we experience waves of sorrow. Sometimes the waves of sorrow last longer than we believe we can bear. We feel like we are suffocating and cannot breathe. Painful experiences sometimes come in rapid fire. So we are tempted to retreat into our little foxholes fearful of getting shot once again. During these times, we certainly do not feel like singing, “It is well, it is well with my soul.”

If you see someone in this suffocating state, I encourage you to overcome your fear of getting involved. Go to this hurting brother or sister with God’s comfort. “Weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). “Comfort one another” (2 Cor. 13:11). Stop telling yourself it will not make a difference. It will. Stop worrying about what you will say. Just go. Often just knowing someone cared enough to come is comfort enough.

If you are in this suffocating state, I encourage you with Horatio Spafford’s words: “Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded [your] my helpless estate.” Christ has regard for your helpless estate. He has sent another comforter, the Holy Spirit, to you. I pray his comfort wash over you in waves of mercy.

Soli Deo Gloria!

In my devotional time this morning, I began reading 1 Corinthians 9 and somehow landed in Romans 12. The heading title in my Bible for Romans 12:9-21 is “Marks of the True Christian”—an appropriate heading indeed. I was particularly struck (i.e., convicted) by verse 11. “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”

Slothful I can swallow. Do not be lazy. Zeal I get. Do not be lazy in being eager. I began to choke on, however, being fervent in spirit. It means fervently as in boiling over. Scripture commands us to be in an emotionally zealous boiling over state in our service to the Lord. I don’t know about you, but I cannot make myself excited. I cannot make myself eager, and I surely cannot make myself boil over. In other words, I am not good at faking my emotions. Yet, God is commanding us to be emotional.

Obviously God does not want us to fake anything. You can stoically say, “Just do it,” but you cannot just “do” emotions. Emotions must be cultivated, led and driven by something else. Our emotions must be driven, impelled by the Holy Spirit. Sloth, laziness in any area of our lives is a work of the flesh. Although it is not explicitly listed as a work of the flesh, slothfulness is patently a work of the flesh. It is the tendency of the flesh to let things drift. This is painfully true in the area of our emotions. Our fleshly tendency is to allow our emotions to drift with the winds of our circumstances rather than set on fire by the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to set the dry kindling of our emotions ablaze.

The good news is, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). We are not led by the shifting winds of our circumstances nor are we led by the frequent invasion of apathy. We are led by the Spirit of God. As such, we do not live according to the flesh. Rather, we “by the Spirit…put to death the deeds of the body.” Our drift toward mindless apathy is just as much a “deed of the body” or “work of the flesh” as “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry etc.” are (Gal. 5:19).

I am resolved, therefore, to be more diligent in keeping watch over my emotions. At the first sign of apathetic drift, I need to tighten the mooring lines of my emotions to the Holy Spirit. I do this by confessing my emotional drift and calling on the Holy Spirit to change, yes change, my emotional state. As the Holy Spirit blows through my heart, I am transformed from a mindless hulk drooling in front of the TV to a zealous servant of God boiling over on everyone I encounter.

Soli Deo Gloria!

1. God is good. He is always good and he has never been bad.

2. God really does want me to be happy.

3. John Piper is right. “God is most glorified when I am most satisfied in him.” A little hint…this is the secret to enjoying the happiness God really wants me to have.

4. Marriage is a lot better than the world says and every bit as good as God says. I love you Donna.

5. My Dad was smarter and wiser than me.

6. I really do not know as much as I think I know.

7. God had everything to do with my salvation and I had nothing to do with my salvation.

8. God has saved me, God is saving me and God will save me.

9. Sin is not as fun as it used to be.

10. Wherever you are in life, be there! (Yes, even in the painful moments.)

11. The institution of government is not inherently evil—people are.

12. God is looooooooonnnnnnnggggggsufferrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiinnnngggggg toward me. (Sorry, got a little dramatic there.)

13. Every day I am doing a lot better than I deserve. Why? Because every day I receive God’s mercy (See Lamentations 3:20-23)

14. It is never too late to say I love you.

15. It is never too late to say you are sorry.

16. Don’t keep a list. God does not keep a list of my sins.

17. The Ten Commandments apply to Christians. They are blueprint for enjoying our covenant relationship with God.

18. Doctrine is important. What you believe affects the way you behave.

19. Behavior is important. It demonstrates what you truly believe.

20. I will never lose my salvation. God is too powerful and too wise to leave my salvation in my hands.

21. I am a Calvinist but I am not happy people reject Christ and ultimately face God’s wrath.

22. Death is cruel. I do not grieve as the world grieves, but death is difficult to watch. A little tip—the reality of the resurrection (Christ’s and the resurrection of believers) makes death easier to accept.

23. It was really dumb that I did not want my parents to kiss me or hug me in front of my friends. I miss their hugs.

24. Be nice. Not to be crude, but mean people really do _ _ _ _! Sorry, I know, I am a pastor. But, it’s so true.

25. Honor your spiritual leaders. Be kind to your pastor, elders and deacons. I have been on both sides. Tell them you love and appreciate them. Submit to them. Also, hold them accountable the same way you would like for them to hold you accountable.

26. The Bible is not boring.

27. Dogs are great therapy.

28. I am not surprised by man’s inhumanity to man.

29. God is not a Republican or a Democrat.

30. The local church is God’s plan A for reaching the world. There is no plan B.

31. You can never pray too much.

32. You can never love too much.

33. Most of the time when I am angry it is not righteous anger. Guys, please stop using that excuse.

34. Don’t play with matches. You will get burned. (My Dad’s saying...matches is a metaphor for sin)

35. Roses do not grow under neon lights.

36. Music is not inherently evil, people are.

37. Take a walk. Breathe deeply…isn’t God awesome!

38. Dad, it is never too late to play with your kids. Yes, you can still play with them when they are grown.

39. Give your wife a Mother’s Day present.

40. State the opposing position in a fair and honest way. When describing an opposing view of theology/doctrine or politics etc…, state it in such a way that if the person holding the opposing view were listening to you they would say, “That is exactly what I believe.” Please, stop calling people names. It is really stupid in politics and theology.

41. God does not need my good works—my neighbor does.

42. Expository preaching is not boring, some preachers are…(sorry, just speaking the truth.) I love you brothers…

43. Old guys rule.

44. Use sunscreen.

45. Eat plenty of fiber…it will keep you from eating too much.

46. Treat your wife like a queen.

47. Never dishonor your wife (husband) in front of others.

48. Smile at people.

49. Hug often.

50. Stop looking for the perfect church.

(Matthew 24:9-13)

There is something which sucks the life out of churches. It is a slow growing cancer. It is a silent killer. This killer is called apathy. It is best summed up in the popular exclamation, “Whatever!” I have often wondered where apathy comes from. As I look at my heart and at the church, I see much apathy. I wonder to myself, “Why are there so many apathetic hearts in the church?”

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). In his commentary on Matthew, R. T. France says, “If ‘love’ (for God and for other people) is the key principle of living as the people of God (Matt. 22:37-40), and so the opposite to ‘lawlessness,’ the ‘cooling’ of love marks the end of effective discipleship. A love which is cold is like a fire which has gone out.” I believe a good definition of apathy is a cooling of our love for God and for other people. Has your love grown cold? Is lawlessness (yours and the lawlessness of others) having its destructive effect on your life?

Perhaps this “cooling” of love for God and others is to be expected in these last days. This passage in Matthew says as much. It does not, however, have to describe you and me. We can return to our first love. There is hope. God dwells with “the contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isa. 57:15). The remedy for an apathetic heart is revival. Revival comes to those who humble themselves before a holy God and turn from their sin. Revival comes to those who cry out to God to relight the fires in their hearts that have grown cold.

Soli Deo Gloria!

There is a tendency in our world to make sin a sickness or an illness. According to this article in the Wall Street Journal, “The closest thing to a formal diagnosis for anger alone is Intermittent Explosive Disorder, defined as episodes of aggression against people or property out of proportion to any provocation.” The article also informs us that “IED, recognized as a psychiatric illness since 1980, may be combined with a new disorder, termed Temper Dysregulation Disorder, in the next edition of the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the DSM-V, because both are believed to begin in adolescence.”

What the “experts” are calling Temper Dysregulation Disorder or IED the Bible calls S-I-N. There is no medication for anger. There is no psychological treatment for anger. There is, however, a biblical answer to anger. Repent of the anger and rely on the Holy Spirit to empower you to “put away anger.” “Fits of anger” are a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:20). The remedy for this work of the flesh is “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).

Calling this sin IED or TDD only gives our sinful hearts ammunition to avoid responsibility for our sinful anger. Occasionally, we exercise righteous anger and I say occasionally because the majority of the time our anger is sinful. Most of the time our sinful anger arises from not getting our way or our utter disbelief that God would allow our lives to be inconvenienced. So, we blow up or stick our little bottom lips out and pout. Stop pouting and “put them all away, anger, wrath, malice…”

Soli Deo Gloria!

Such statements offend our sensibilities. Surely I am better than my dog? The Bible abruptly reminds us, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12). Not seeking God, worthless and no one good? This offends our sensibilities. Why?

It offends our sensibilities because we mistakenly think even though we have sinned it is not as bad as others. And, even if we do sin, we mistakenly think we can make up for it by doing something good to show God how really and truly sorry we are. We can show God that we are really not that bad. The Bible abruptly reminds us we are saved, “Not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy” (Titus 3:5). We are “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

When I repent of my offended sensibilities and look again, Twain’s statement is wonderful. “Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out, and your dog would go in.” Indeed, it is wonderful to me! God by his mercy invites me, a dog, into his wonderful kingdom through nothing more than his divine favor. Oh how magnificent the mercy of God! Oh how wonderful the grace poured out on me!

Soli Deo Gloria!

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

Feb. 1st of this year artist gathered to record the remake of “We are the World” to raise money for Haiti. Listen to some of its words:

We are the World united by love so strong
When the radio isn’t on you can hear the songs
A guided light on the dark road your walking on
A sign post to find the dreams you thought was gone
Someone to help you move the obstacles you stumbled on
Someone to help you rebuild after the rubble’s gone
We are the World connected by a common bond
Love the whole planet sing it along

First, let me say I am thrilled that contemporary recording artists get together to raise money for people who are in need and I applaud them for their effort. Forgive me for being a realist, but who are we kidding? “A change will only come when we stand together as one?” “We are the world united by love so strong…We are the world connected by a common bond. Love the whole planet sing it along.” Is that really happening in “the world” as we so self righteously sing? No it is not happening. There is no unity. There is no being united around a love so strong. There is no common bond holding us together in our wonderful human goodness. Sorry folks. We may like to sing and feel good about ourselves, but this world unity thing just ain’t happening. In fact, the only common bond the Bible says we humans have is we are all sinners.

More on this Sunday. Soli Deo Gloria!

If I were asked what the enduring legacy of my father is, I would have to say endurance. My father did not quit. He did not believe in quitting. If he started something, he finished it. If he made a commitment, he kept it.

He endured as a depression era child who dropped out of school for a year to help his daddy work the farm. He endured as a young husband and father raising three boys on a machinist’s pay. He endured as he watched his three boys grow up and make bad choices which broke his heart. He endured and prayed for his boys. He endured and loved his boys through their bad choices and he celebrated their joys. He endured as he lost his brother to a drunk driver. He endured as he lost the parents he adored. He endured as he watched cancer take the life of his beloved “Honey.” He remarried his precious redhead Lavonda and treated her grown children as his own. He endured for another 18 years. He endured until his precious Lavonda left the hospital room to spare her the grief of watching him die.

He endured, not because he was stronger than anyone or had more willpower than anyone. He endured because he believed. He believed Romans 8:38-39: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” My father could endure because he simply believed the power of God was keeping him safe in the love of Christ Jesus every day of his life.

I pray in the years to come I will display the same endurance of my father. Somehow I believe I will be able to endure not because I am strong or have more willpower than others. I will endure because Christ “is able to keep [me] from stumbling and to present [me] blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.” (Jude 1:24)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Thursday morning at 5:30 my daddy passed from this life into the glorious presence of our Lord. The following are my remarks at his funeral service:

Thank you all for coming out today to share in our grief and to celebrate the life of my daddy. I would like to speak for him today not because I always knew what he was going to say, but I do know his heart. And, as we gather to comfort one another and honor a great man, I am convinced there is something he would want you to know.

I do not need to spend a lot of time telling you what a great man my daddy was. Most of you know that, and it is why you are here. If you were to ask my father, however, if he thought he was a great man I am certain he would say no. I am sure his assessment of his life would be the same as the Apostle Paul’s self assessment in 1 Tim. 1:15. My daddy would tell you that he is one of the foremost of sinners.

The last time I visited my daddy we were having one of our many conversations about the gospel and our wonderful Savior. My daddy said something to the effect, “I do not understand how Jesus could be so merciful to me knowing all of my sins.” My daddy was in touch with his sin. My daddy knew that he like all of us deserve nothing but God’s punishment for our sins. My daddy had no illusions of being great or better than anyone—my daddy knew he was a great sinner. My dad would want you to understand that you too must realize that each one of you are great sinners like him.

My daddy would also want you to know something else: we have a great Savior. 1 Tim. 1:15-16 says, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.” My daddy would want you to know that even though he was a great sinner, he received God’s mercy. My daddy would want you to know his life was an example of the great mercy of God. My daddy would want you to know if Jesus could save him, he can and will save you. You see my father was an example—he was an example of someone who depended on God’s great mercy to save him every day.

2 Cor. 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” That is God’s mercy—Jesus becoming and taking on our sin on his body on the cross and God pouring out his punishment for our sins on his own son. God did that so that my daddy, so that me, you and anyone who confesses and turns from their great sin and turns to this great savior will become the righteousness of God. Jesus came to save sinners not good people.

If my daddy was here, and I assure you he is not, he is with his great savior; he would ask you if you have received the mercy of God. He would ask you if you have confessed your great sin and turned to the great Savior. My daddy would want you to be sure before you left here, that you knew his great Savior and my great Savior. Have you received his great mercy? Do you know our great Savior? If you are not sure you know him and you would like to be sure, I encourage you to pray with me in your heart, “God I am a great sinner and I need a great Savior. Thank you for taking my punishment Lord Jesus, come and save me today.” Romans 10:13 says, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

If that is the sincere prayer of your heart, then you know our great Savior. And he will come into your heart and make you a “new creation,” just as he did in my Dad’s life and in my life. Thank you so much for coming

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

I ran across this passage while teaching a class on the Apostle Paul last night. Verses 11-12 got me thinking. What would happen if the majority of the people in our country aspired to live quietly, mind their own affairs and worked with their hands (i.e., gained meaningful employment)? I think the answer to that question is answered in verse 12. We would “live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

At Christmas I choose to remember something which makes all the pain and heartache I experience dim in comparison. I choose to remember God who interrupted history by becoming man. He came and dwelt among us in the form of a baby. He was wrapped in cloths and put in an animal’s feeding trough. I choose to remember God who sent his own son into a world hostile to him. I choose to remember Jesus who went from the cradle to the cross and then to the crown. I choose to remember at Christmas God did all of that for me and for his people. I choose to remember God loves me more than my finite mind can comprehend. As I remember these things, my pain and heartache though very real are comforted in waves of Christmas joy.

Whatever you have gone through or are presently going through, choose to remember what God has done. Choose to remember he did all that for you. If you choose to remember, you will not dread Christmas. You will like Christmas just as much as I do.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This Christmas as you consider your holiday gift giving, consider how much you already have. Consider making a minor sacrifice. Think about one thing you wanted really bad for Christmas. Find out how much that item costs. Then donate that much to International Missions. As Southern Baptists, we make this donation through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Or perhaps you could give one day of your family income to International Missions. In whatever way the Lord leads, please consider giving a generous gift to missions this Christmas. God is really using our dollars to fulfill the Great Commission throughout the world.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Acts 1:4-11

November 22, 2009

© 2009 Cary M. Paulk

Permission is granted to make copies of this sermon provided the copies are not sold.

Last Sunday’s message was intense to say the least. It was my attempt to awaken our church to the seriousness of our condition. Today, I want to share with you what God has called us to do about our condition. Last week we talked about what’s wrong. This week we are going to talk about how to fix what is wrong.

In this passage in Acts, we find the disciples gathered together in Jerusalem. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told the disciples “wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” Luke records it this way in Luke 24:49, “And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Jesus then proceeded to tell them what they would do as a result of being clothed with this power from on high.

Immediately after Jesus was taken up into heaven Luke tells us in verse 10, “Two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’” This is a reference, of course, to the Second Coming of Christ. It is much more, however, than just a reference to the Second Coming. We have to understand what is implied by the question of the angels, “Why do you stand looking into heaven?” I believe the angels were implying this: “Why do you stand looking into heaven? Stop standing around looking and go do what this Jesus told you to do.”

Fast forward the history of the church DVD 2000 years to the present day. What are those two angels saying to the church at Bayview? I believe they are saying exactly the same thing. “Why do you stand looking? Stop standing around looking and go do what Jesus told you to do.”

I believe Jesus himself is asking us two questions today.

Why do you stand looking at distractions? (vv. 6-7, 10-11)

Direct your attention to verses 6-7. “So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’” Apparently, the disciples did not like Jesus’ answer because we see in verse 10 the two men in white rebuke them by saying, “Why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” They simply could not believe that their Messiah, Jesus, would leave them still under the oppressive Roman government. The disciples were distracted. They were distracted by the Messianic fervor that was dominating the religious landscape of their day.

There was an expectation in First Century Israel that the Messiah would come and crush the Roman government and set up his kingdom on earth. Apparently the disciples were still distracted by this messianic expectation. The disciples obviously did not understand anything Jesus had taught them the previous three years. They did not understand Jesus’ words to Pilate in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Some people were so distracted by messianic fervor that they actually missed the real Messiah in their midst. The disciples were so distracted by Messianic fervor that they totally ignored what Jesus said in Acts 1:8 about being witnesses. They were distracted.

What are your distractions? What are you standing around looking at? Is it all your stuff or your lack of stuff? Is it your family? Perhaps you are standing around looking for somebody to love you. Somebody has already loved you. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) You are either being a witness like Acts 1:8 says or you are standing around looking. People of Bayview Baptist Church why do you stand looking at distractions?

The second question Jesus is asking us today is:

Why do you stand looking for what you already have? (v. 8)

What Jesus was essentially saying to his disciples is “Hey guys stop being distracted by when or where I am going to restore the kingdom.” Then Jesus goes on to say in verse 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This is just a side note. Please do not get distracted or drawn into the debate about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is a distraction and it is not, I repeat, it is not the point of this passage. The point of this passage is witnessing and not anything else. In case you are wondering what I believe about the Holy Spirit, allow me to briefly summarize my belief. When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts. After we become Christians, the Holy Spirit does not stop working. He clothes us with power from on high to be witnesses and He gives us spiritual gifts. And yes, all the spiritual gifts that are listed in the Bible. In other words, I think the Holy Spirit will baptize us every day if we ask him to. And I think a fresh baptism in the Holy Spirit would get many of us to stop standing around looking.

If you have trusted Christ as your Savior and Lord, you have the Holy Spirit. So Jesus is saying to us today, “Why do you stand looking for what you already have?” With the Holy Spirit, this is what you have specifically:

You have power.

Verse 8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” If you have the Holy Spirit, you have power. Power for what? You have power for witnessing.

If I went to the gym, and that is not very much these days, and somebody pointed to the bench press with 400 lbs on it and said, “Go over there and lift that ten times,” what do you think I would say? In my manly bravado, I would probably strut around for a few minutes pretending I am some kind power lifter but eventually I would have to tell the truth. “Hey look, buddy, I really do not have the physical strength, the power, to bench press 400lbs.”

Consider this for a moment. What if Jesus said you will be my witnesses and left off the Holy Spirit part? I know many of you think you are smart and powerful but think about what is involved in witnessing. Witnessing involves sharing the gospel with people whose minds have been blinded by the devil. Witnessing involves sharing the message of new life in Christ with people who are dead in their trespasses and sins. Witnessing involves sharing the good news that Christ came to reconcile with people who hate God—with people who are God’s enemies. Now tell me. How can we do that without power? How can we witness without the Holy Spirit empowering us to witness? We can’t. That is the point.

Jesus is not telling you to do something that He has not given you the power to do. He has given you the Holy Spirit and will continue to clothe you with the power of the Holy Spirit to witness. So, the question is: why do you stand looking for something you already have?

Not only do you have power but…

You have clear instructions.

There is no ambiguity here. The words of Jesus are crystal clear. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” If you read the book of Acts, you will find that is exactly what happened. In chapters 1-7, they witnessed in Jerusalem. In chapters 8-12, they witnessed in Judea and Samaria. In chapters 13-28, they witnessed to the end of the earth. So, that was then and this is now. What has this got to do with us?

I think Paul says it best in Romans 15:4. He was speaking of the Old Testament but I think this applies to us when we read Acts 1:8. Paul says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Acts 1:8 was written for our instruction and for our encouragement. Through this instruction and encouragement in Acts 1:8 we have hope. We have hope for our church and hope for our mission in witnessing to the lost.

We have clear instructions. We are to witness in our Jerusalem. We are to witness in Bayview, Ocean View and Norfolk. We are to witness in our Judea. We are to carry this witness into and throughout the state of Virginia. We are to witness in our Samaria. We are to carry this witness throughout the United States. Finally, we witness to the end of the earth. We carry the message of the gospel throughout the world. These are very clear instructions.

Admittedly, this is a mammoth task. In spite of the fact that our task is gargantuan, Jesus says to us, “Why do you stand looking for what you already have? You have clear instructions. Go do it.”Well, you say. There are so few of us. They were a small church just like us. There were only 120 of them to begin with. A few days later there were 3000 more. Well, you say. We do not have much money. Acts 2:45 tells us they had to sell their belongings to meet each other’s needs.

Let me tell you what we do have. We have the Holy Spirit just like them. But we also have more. We have more technology than they had. Collectively we have more money than they had in their entire lifetime. Sadly, one thing I think we have is more excuses than the disciples had. We have more excuses for not obeying these very clear instructions of Jesus. Why do you stand looking for something you already have?

I want you to dream with me for a minute. I see this small church saturating the Bayview and Ocean View communities with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I see this church growing through new believers being added to the church. I see Bayview planting more churches in Norfolk. I see Bayview planting more churches in Virginia. I see Bayview planting more churches in the United States. And yes, I see people from Bayview taking the witness of the gospel throughout the world. I see us going on mission trips and missionaries being raised up in our midst. That is what I dream about at night. That is what I look out the window in my office and daydream about. I see that because I know we have everything we need to do that right now. Do you see what I see? Why do you stand looking for what you already have?

Conclusion

The Las Vegas magician and illusionist Penn Jillette of the duo Penn and Teller is an atheist. Listen to what this atheist said on a YouTube video recently:

I’ve always said, you know, that I don’t respect people who do not proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that, uh, well, it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think that people shouldn’t proselytize, [saying] “Just leave me alone and keep your religion to yourself”—uh, how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize them? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that a truck was bearing down on you, there’s a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important that.[1]

(VIDEO LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM)

Why do you stand looking at anything else when you are surrounded by people who need to hear the gospel?

What is so captivating about those things that distract you? What are you waiting for? You already have everything you need. You have his power and you have his instructions. Any questions? Why do you stand looking, Bayview Baptist Church? Be his witnesses! That is the answer to the condition we find ourselves in as a church. Stop looking and start witnessing! Are you still looking? Get out there!

In preparation for Sunday, pray and meditate through Hebrews 3:12-19. Be prepared to hear what God has to say to us as a church through this passage. No this is not a teaser or some gimmick to get you to come to church. This is an urgent plea for the life of our church! Please come.

Soli Deo Gloria!

We do not like being told how to act. When someone says, “You ought to do this or you ought to do that,” it gets our dander up. “Don’t tell me what to do!” we yell in protest. We are adults. We are mature. We do not like someone telling us what we should and should not do. “Who do you think you are? Who died and put you in charge?” we screech like the adolescent children.

This is a painful if not amusing part of our human nature. Yet it is not so amusing when we read the words of our older brother in the faith, the Apostle Paul say, “I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God.” (1 Tim. 3:14-15) I wonder if some in the church at Ephesus said after hearing Timothy read this letter, “Who does Paul think he is?” I wonder if Paul were standing among us today, we would say, “Who do you think you are?”

Soli Deo Gloria!

Often sales personnel will use what I call a “hook” to make a sale. They simply ascertain a need or desire of their customer and then proceed to show how their product can meet the need of the customer. Consequently, once we take the bait, the salesperson reels us in and makes the sale. This, of course, is a very pragmatic way to be successful in sales. “Whatever it takes to make the sale,” so the saying goes.

Unfortunately, we often use the same approach in sharing the Gospel with others. When we take this pragmatic approach to witnessing, we inadvertently deny the sufficiency of Scripture. We would not, of course, come right out and say we do not believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. Yet, in practice we deny the sufficiency of Scripture when we feel like we need to use a “hook” to witness to an unbeliever. Our hook is usually finding out an unbeliever’s felt-needs and then explaining to them how the Gospel meets that need. This, we say, is making the Gospel relevant. The biggest problem with that approach is the main need is ignored or glossed over. The main need of unbelievers is to be reconciled to God and not to have a better marriage or better whatever (2. Cor. 5:20).

We do not need to use a “hook” to witness. Yes, we are fishers of men, but we do not use hooks. Romans 1:16 declares, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” The gospel is the power of God for salvation and it is alone sufficient to affect the salvation of anyone who believes. I do not need to use a hook—the gospel is sufficient. I only have two tools in my tackle box: the Word of God and prayer. I use the Word of God to persuade and I pray for God to open the eyes of those who are dead in their trespasses and sins.

Let’s just say you disagree with me. You want to use the hook approach to witnessing. You have an unbelieving friend whose marriage is in trouble. You share with them how God transformed your marriage and then tell them that if they give their heart to Jesus, they can have a better marriage. They say, “OK, I’ll give Jesus a try” and you get them to pray the sinners prayer. In a few short months after praying the prayer, their marriage ends in divorce. This often ends with that person walking away from the church because Jesus did not meet their “felt-need” of a better marriage. Meanwhile your friend’s real need, which is being reconciled with God, is never realized. We do not get saved to have a better marriage. We get saved because we have rebelled against a holy God and will face his wrath unless he rescues us.

We are not in sales. We are heralds—those who announce the good news. We fish for men and women by broadcasting the most important story—the gospel—to people who need to be rescued. We are not allowed to change the story. We are not allowed to try to make the story more relevant (translation: more palatable to our culture). The story is sufficient in and of itself. It, and not my sales acumen or hook, is the power of God to save. So next time you go fishing for men and women, leave your hooks at home.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Yet something unbelievable happened three days later. Some women went to see the tomb. When they arrived, the huge stone was rolled away from the entrance and the tomb was empty. An angel appeared to them and told them, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he as risen, as he said. Come see the place where he lay.” The guards who witnessed this strange appearance were mortified. They trembled to the point they could tremble no longer. They looked like dead men.

As the guards stood there like statues, the women ran to tell his disciples that the tomb was empty—that their teacher had risen from the dead. Running at breakneck pace, they were stopped dead in their tracks. Jesus appeared to the women and said, “Do not be afraid’ go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The guards finally recovered from their state of catatonic fear and told the religious leaders of the community what had happened. The religious leaders feared that this story might get out. So they paid the guards some sizable hush money and told them, “Tell people, His disciples came by night and stole him away while they were asleep.” The guard’s version of the story spread and was believed by many. Who could believe that a dead man could come out of a tomb alive?

So here they stood in the hill country of Galilee—these eleven remaining members of Jesus’ inner circle. There was nothing special about this bunch. They were just normal blue collar people. Most were fisherman and there was one tax collector. Most of them had abandoned Jesus. What would happen when they saw Jesus? What would Jesus say to them? Would he scold them for their fear? Would he punish them? Would they run when they saw him?

Verse 17 says, “When they saw him they worshipped him, but some doubted.” “How could some doubt,” we piously scream. Remember, nothing like this had ever happened before. No one had ever come out of a tomb much less after being horrifically slaughtered. So they were understandably hesitant. What would Jesus say? How are they to interact with this resurrected Jesus? Perhaps some fear remained.

Jesus, sensing their fear, comes closer. He gives them marching orders that changed the course of history. He told them to make disciples. He told them to make more people like themselves. Jesus told them to make disciples because he was the only one who could give such a command. He was the only one who ever came out of an empty tomb.

The command of Jesus to make disciples has an authority and credibility that no other religion possesses. As Michael Horton so aptly explains,

As a datable event in our own history, the resurrection cannot be shoved into a closet of personal piety. Everyone has to deal with it. This isn’t just another religion story. It’s the international headline.[1]

So, as we stand here over 2000 years later, we are given the same command to make disciples. Even though we feel inadequate for this task of making disciples, we are assured by our Lord that we can do what he has called us to do. We can make disciples because of who Jesus is and what he has done. Surely this Jesus who came out of that tomb can give us everything we need to complete our task. He rose from the dead and everyone has to deal with it. We are not just bringing another religious story to the world.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

It is obvious that free is used in context with submission to government authorities. It is also quite clear that the word free is used in the context of doing good and honoring everyone including government officials—especially the ones we disagree with politically. So what should we make of all this?

May I humbly suggest that submitting to our government officials, doing good, not using our freedom as a cover up for evil, honoring everyone, loving the brotherhood (the church), fearing God and living as a servant of God are all ways that we live as people who are free. If you cherish your freedom in Christ, then your behavior will demonstrate your affection. It is just that simple.

So how do we honor individuals with whom we passionately disagree with? We remember this principle: We are required to honor all persons, but we are not required to honor all ideas. Some ideas are obviously morally wrong and opposed to the principles of Scripture. Other ideas are not necessarily morally wrong, but they just may not be the best for society or our country. We must be civil and respectful when speaking of and to our government officials about their positions. If you cannot speak respectfully and civilly, then you should be quiet. Our constitutional right of freedom of speech does not trump the Scriptural mandate to honor everyone.

Of course, there are violations of this on both sides of the political aisle. When someone shouts, “You lie,” from the floor of the House of Representatives while the President is speaking, it is clearly dishonoring and uncivil. It is also clearly dishonoring and uncivil when people accuse others of racism just because they disagree with the President. Accusing people of racism without knowing their inner motivation is a violation of “Judge not that you be not judged.” (Matt. 7:1)

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

What often happens with personal testimonies is the emphasis gets placed on the person being transformed rather than God who is doing the work of transformation. The emphasis is on the human rather than God who made the human. Or, what is even worse, the emphasis is placed on material or circumstantial changes rather than moral or spiritual transformation. Many become disillusioned with Christianity because of this misplaced emphasis. They hear some Christian celebrity tell them that they will be successful if they come to Christ only to find out this is not necessarily true.

How did we get to such a dismal place? We are here because we have allowed the current of narcissism that dominates our culture to sweep us down the river of compromise. We have let culture (i.e., the prevailing worldview) shape our message. We are so self-absorbed that we believe the gospel is about us. It is not. It is about God. In 1 Timothy 1:12-17, the Apostle Paul gives a short testimony of his conversion and appointment to ministry. Absent from Paul’s testimony is any narcissistic spewing of how successful he has become since he came to know Christ. Instead we hear a humble man speak of God’s amazing mercy. Paul’s testimony is not all about himself. His testimony is all about God’s mercy. It is all about God pouring out his mercy and grace on an undeserving sinner. Paul’s testimony and the testimony of any Christian is essentially the same: if God gave me mercy, he can give you mercy.

Soli Deo Gloria!

There is a different kind of rabbit trail that is indeed dangerous and harmful. This is the rabbit trail of false doctrine. When the Apostle Paul bid the church at Ephesus farewell he said to the elders, “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:28) Unfortunately, Paul’s prophecy came true. Now Paul writes his beloved son in the faith Timothy from prison, instructing this young pastor how to handle these "fierce wolves” who were leading the Ephesians down dangerous rabbit trails.

It is amazing how relevant this passage of Scripture is for the contemporary church. With the information explosion that began with the advent of the Internet in the 1990s until now, there is a great need to hear and obey the words of 1 Timothy 1-11. False teachers can now broadcast their poison to the entire world 24-hours a day. False teaching can and often does infiltrate the evangelical church today. For example, The Shack by William Young has been on the paperback bestseller list for over a year. Many within the evangelical community have been seduced by its compelling story and frankly ignore its heretical ideas about God. I listened to an interview of the author in which he flatly denied penal substitution. Penal substitution is the doctrine that Christ was punished for our sins. Folks, penal substitution is at the heart of the Gospel. This comes out in the book when he twists Christ’s words on the cross, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” to mean that Jesus only “felt” forsaken and that God did not really leave his son when He bore all our sin on the cross. (For more info see A Brief Review of The Shack)

Paul reminds us in this passage that false teachers must be confronted. Correction is vital to the life and effectiveness of the church. A failure to correct false teaching will surely result in us wandering onto dangerous rabbit trails. Sadly, some who wander onto these dangerous rabbit trails never return.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I think it is safe to say that many churches and denominations are plateaued or in decline in America. Did you know that we baptized more people in 1950 in the SBC than we did in 2008? The sad thing about that is we have more resources and more people yet we are reaching less people for Christ. There are probably many reasons for that but I think there are two major reasons. The church in America is a culture of cowardice and compromise. I have spoken of the compromise of the church in America on numerous occasions so today I want to address what I call a culture of cowardice in the church. If we are ever going to see a change in our declining churches, we must be honest about where we are—we are basically a bunch of cowards.

Perhaps you are wondering why I say that. I say that because of what I see in the church. We are always playing it safe. We are not taking risks. We are doing ministry according to what we collect in the offering plate and not according to faith. We do not tell our neighbors about Christ because we are afraid of rejection. We do not dare think that God might be calling us to do something because we fear giving up too much of our precious time. We do not step out in or take on a ministry that God may be calling us to because we fear failure. We fear, we fear and we fear some more. So, we play it safe.

I also say we are a bunch of cowards because of what I read in the Bible. I do not see many cowards in the New Testament Church. I do not see cowardly lions. I see those who are emboldened by the Lion of Judah. I see brave men and women who lived their lives with reckless abandon to Christ. I see bold believers. When I look at myself and the majority of the church in America today, I realize we are drowning in a culture of cowardice. I believe, however, that God wants to do something about that. I believe, however, this culture of cowardice can be changed. This culture of cowardice can be overrun be a group of bold believers.

Soli Deo Gloria!

One thing I discovered is that much of my time together with my wife consists of “hurried” conversation. As I reflected more on this, I realized that sometimes stressing out over “working” on your marriage causes more harm than good. Now do not assume that I am suggesting we stop working on our marriages. What I am saying is we need more “unhurried” conversation in our marriages. No agenda. No “hurry up” and work on our relationship type conversations. Just sit and relax and talk about whatever enters our minds at the time. Here’s a little hint—Taking a leisurely walk (like on the beach) is a good place to do that.

I read Crazy Love by Francis Chan during my week on the beach. I was challenged, convicted, encouraged and motivated by reading it. It will make you think seriously whether or not you really love God and how much he really loves you. It’s kind of crazy I guess.

Being off has also helped me to think about what I have been learning this past year. At the beginning of the year, I determined to learn more about sanctification. Unlike my past resolutions, I have actually learned more about sanctification thanks to the English Puritan, Walter Marshall. I have been walking through Marshall’s The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification. We are nearing the end of this walk (we are on direction 10 of 14) and it has been a fruitful walk. Specifically, I have learned the importance of receiving the comforts of the gospel in sanctification. It is pretty difficult to grow if you do not receive God’s comfort during the process. We can be assured of growth (sanctification) because it is both a one-time event and a process. God has done it (1 Cor. 6:11, Heb. 10:10) and we are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:19, 22; 2 Th. 2:13). I have also learned the importance of assurance of salvation in the sanctification process. How can one grow if they are not convinced of God’s love and continued work in their life? (Philippians 1:6). If God will not complete what he began, then why continue in this struggle with our flesh, the world, and the devil?

I am glad to be home. Not because I was tired of resting, but because I love my church and love the people. I only pray that I can bring more of the unhurried living into my life and ministry.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Our church is in the middle of Vacation Bible School. As I look out over the crowd of children singing, dancing and screaming to the top of their lungs for Jesus, my heart is joyful. As I look out on the children, I also wonder who among them will grow up to sing and dance and praise the King of Kings. That is a question neither I nor anyone can answer. Yet Jesus commands, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:16)

Putting on a Vacation Bible School or any other Gospel outreach is hard work. It is hard work but worth the effort. As we proclaim the Gospel and minister to our communities, God uses the proclamation of His Word to call those who are being saved to Himself. Meanwhile we wonder and pray. Who will respond? Who will respond to the free offer of the Gospel and trust in the finished work of Christ? Many may not respond but we do know some will respond. And as those respond to the Gospel, our hearts are filled with joy and wonder at the miracle of salvation.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I was sad because I am in that phase of life when you begin losing your aunts, uncles and your parents. My mother died in 1991 to cancer. My father is 80 and in reasonably good health for someone who has had two heart bypass operations. He has kept his weight off and eats right most of the time. As I prepared to drive back to Virginia, a thought caused me some sadness. I realized that after my father dies, I would have few reasons to visit my hometown. Most of my relatives have moved away and most of my friends are in Virginia. I regret not having maintained better contact with my childhood friends and if any are reading this, I am sorry for that.

It is difficult to face transitions of this sort in your life. It is even more difficult without the comfort of God and the comfort of His church. In Paul’s final instructions to the Corinthian church said, “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Cor. 13:11) In the transitions of life, God commands us to rejoice. In the transitions of life, God exhorts us to “aim for restoration” in our conflict. In the transitions of life, God says, “Comfort one another.” In the transitions of life, we can agree on the essentials and live in peace with one another. In the transitions of life, we can be sure that the God of love and peace is with us.

Whatever transition you are facing or have faced, allow the comfort of God and His church to comfort you. Transitions are the time when we need God and His church the most.

Soli Deo Gloria!

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

1 John 3:1-3 (ESV)

It is extremely difficult to have hope or a positive outlook when we get focused on having “our best life now.” As Christians, we cannot have our best life now because our best life is to come. Please do not misunderstand. I am not saying we must hold on until we get to glory or until Jesus comes. On the contrary, I am saying we can have a more joyful life if we fix our hope in Christ and what He will bring when we see him face to face.

“Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” We have been purified by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We are being purified by Christ sacrifice on the cross. And, we will be purified when we see him because “we shall be like him.” Perhaps we are living pretty miserably because we are so focused on improving our circumstances rather than focusing our hope in Christ. “Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth.” (Col. 3:2) Our best life is to come in Christ. We can, however, be joyful in this life because we know God will complete the work He began in us. (Phil. 1:6) Our joy comes from the “love the Father has given us” and from the assurance that we are the children of God.

Soli Deo Gloria!

but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12, ESV)

If that verse is true, and I believe it is, then there are a lot of sick people in the world. Come on; get your head out of the gutter. Not that kind of sick but heart sick. There are many of us with hearts that are sick. We are weighted down and disappointed by life. Many of our dreams and desires have been unfulfilled and their future fulfillment looks dim. Hence, we are heart sick. In commenting on this verse John Eldredge writes, “The road to life and joy lies through, not around, the heart sickness of hope deferred.”[1] We all must travel through the hurricanes of heart sickness and pray that we do not “shipwreck our faith” (I Timothy 1:19). How can we navigate those hurricanes of heart sickness and come out on the other side stronger and dare I say more hopeful than ever?

The most important way is to make sure that the primary object of our hope is Jesus Christ. As Christians we are to be “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13, ESV). He, “our great God and Savior” will appear in all his glory and “present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.” (Jude 24, ESV). Now that’s hope! Being revealed with Jesus in all his glory and presented blameless! How can we be sure that this will happen?

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Jesus is faithful. He will do what He said he will do. We must “hold fast” to this “confession of our hope without wavering.” God’s promises must be latched onto with bulldog ferocity. My dog Mickey, who happens to be a Sheltie instead of a bulldog, will latch onto with his teeth a sock or bone or whatever you put in front of him. He will not let go unless you pry his mouth open, which I might add can get a little slippery. We must latch onto this promise of God without allowing anyone to pry our mouths open. We cannot waver. To waver is to give in to unnecessary heart sickness.

We experience too much heart sickness because the objects of our hope are the temporal and passing pleasures of this world. Anything else we hope for will cause heart sickness. Jesus is the only sure thing! The writer of Hebrews says, “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.” (Hebrews 6:19, ESV) Jesus is our hope! He is a “sure and steadfast anchor” that can keep us grounded through any of the many hurricanes of heart sickness that threaten to steal our joy. Next time you are heart sick because of a hope deferred ask yourself who or what the object of your hope was.

Another way to navigate these heart sick hurricanes of life and receive a measure of healing is to saturate yourself in the Word of God. It really is that simple. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” I hope you caught the progression of that verse. The bible was written in former days for what purpose? Our instruction. Why? So “that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” You may find yourself hopeless because your life is scriptureless.

Whenever I am counseling anyone who is struggling with a loss of hope inevitably I ask them if they have been in the Word. Without fail, the answer is almost always no. The “encouragement of the Scriptures” gives us hope. It’s just that simple. If the only thing you are hearing is the negative self-talk going on in your mind and perhaps coming from your so called “friends”, then you will be hopeless indeed. However, if you are immersing yourself in to what the bible says about you and your life then you will have hope that cannot be shaken. The power of the bible to encourage and impart hope has no limits.

Our part in Paul’s exhortation in Romans 15:4 is to endure. Endurance in addition to the encouragement of the Scriptures produces hope. We must hang in there. The only ones that finish the race are the ones who do not quit. “It’s too hard,” you might say. I know. It is hard. But it is worth it. Refuse the temptation to whine, latch onto the promises of God like a bulldog, and saturate your mind and heart in the Word of God. It works, trust me. I have navigated the minefields of hope deferred heartsickness and have come out with all my limbs.

He has transformed me from hopeless to hopeful and from heart sick to heart healthy. He has caused me to “be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for (me), who by God's power (am) being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:4-5, ESV) The hope found in Jesus Christ is a “living hope” that can be experienced today. Do you have that hope?

Soli Deo Gloria!

I am grateful for the kindness that God extends to all humans through his creation. Specifically, I am thankful for the gift of dogs. Some of you are not dog people. Some of you are not even cat people. So, just bear with my gratitude and reminiscing in the face of my loss.

It is quite a wonderful thing to be able to have a pet and benefit from the companionship of one of God’s creatures. There is something unique about raising dogs and growing over time to love them and value their company. I am not a Veterinarian so I have no idea how much dogs understand or do not understand. I just know that is was a blessing to sit with Minnie and stroke her hair during times of sadness or pain and experience comfort. Did Minnie do something to give comfort or say something or look at me a certain way that gave comfort? No, she was just there, being the dog that she was. And that was enough for me.

Yes, she was only a dog but I loved her. I am not devastated. I am just sad. Mostly, I am thankful for the kindness of God in giving us dogs to pet, play with and live with. It makes living in this world a little bit more pleasant and for that, I am grateful.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I have been taking this walk through the Beatitudes and hearing our Lord describe the character of true disciples. I have learned that disciples recognize their inability and helplessness in doing anything about their sinful condition—they are poor in spirit. I have learned that disciples grieve over their sin and the sins of others—blessed are those who mourn. I have learned that this produces a unique humility in the lives of disciples—they are meek. I have learned that disciples are hungry and thirsty for the righteousness of God to be displayed in their lives. I have learned that disciples display mercy. I have learned that disciples have undivided hearts that have been cleansed and purified by the blood of Christ—blessed are the pure in heart. I have learned that disciples exhibit peacemaking behavior.

What does our world do to disciples who by the Spirit of God are growing in those areas of their lives? What does our world do to people who humbly display these characteristics? Jesus answers that question in Matthew 5:10-12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.” What did the world in the earthly ministry of Jesus do and what does our world do to true disciples of Jesus Christ? It persecutes them. True disciples of Jesus Christ will be persecuted.

Soli Deo Gloria!

The BGAV is one of those liberal dinosaurs that have failed to accept the conservative resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention. Most mainline denominations have drifted in a liberal theological direction never to return. The SBC began to drift in a liberal theological direction earlier in the middle of the 20^th Century but God slowly turned the ship back on course. The SBC is the only denomination of which I am aware that has turned back to its biblical moorings.

The key issue has always been the authority and inerrancy of the Scriptures. In 1984, when I was a new believer at a BGAV church I would often hear my pastor lament over the direction of the BGAV on the issue of inerrancy. I bought James Draper’s book Authority: The Critical Issue for Southern Baptists to gain a better understanding of the issue. Draper summarizes the essence of the issue for me:

Can a holy God inspire an errant word? If the Bible is considered to be the Word of God in any meaningful sense, can a holy, perfect, righteous God inspire something which is imperfect, unholy, and full of errors, imperfections, and false information? Whatever God does, He does perfectly. That is the answer to this basic question.[1]

How can we trust the Bible is right when it speaks to issues of salvation and eternity if we cannot trust every word? The answer to that question is obvious.

The BGAV takes the tired old liberal argument that because the Bible does not use the word inerrant, we must not use the word inerrant to refer to the Bible. That is a superficial argument at best. The Bible does not use the word Trinity, but the doctrine of the Trinity is clearly taught in the Bible.

The inerrancy question was settled for me as a young believer. As a pastor and preacher it gives me great confidence knowing that when I read from the Bible publicly and expound its truths, I am not just reading from a book written by fallible men that may contain some truth. I am reading from a book that God breathed through fallible men in order to produce an infallible result—God’s Word. Every word inspired and every word of the Bible fully trustworthy.

Soli Deo Gloria!

1 Cor. 3:6-8 says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” We would like to think that it is our efforts that cause church growth, but that is obviously not the case. God gives the growth! We can preach correctly, believe and teach biblically and share the Gospel everywhere we go. We do this because God has commanded us. The results are always up to God and never up to us or our efforts.

This can be quite frustrating at times especially when our physical and emotional bodies are sore from the work of fulfilling the Great Commission. Paul said, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” Though it is the Holy Spirit powerfully working within us, we can get quite sore from the hard work (toil) and emotional pain that comes with ministry. Yet in our soreness God provides comfort and assurance. 1 Cor. 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

This word of the cross is absolute nonsense to “those who are perishing.” They cannot understand the power of the cross unless their blinded eyes are opened (2 Cor. 4:4). Unbelievers are dead in their trespasses and sins until they are made alive (Col. 2:13). No amount of clever words from us will convince an unbeliever to turn from their sin and turn to Christ. They must be born again (John 3:3).

The word of the cross is “the power of God” to those of us “who are being saved.” The word translated power is dunamis. You have probably heard the worn out illustration of our English word dynamite coming from dunamis. This is an unfortunate illustration, however, because though dynamite is powerful (i.e., explosive) it is more of a destructive power. This is not the type of power communicated here. In the context of this passage, the power of God is not destructive. It is creative, redemptive, restorative, healing and liberating. It frees us from the power and dominion of sin (Rom. 6:22).

This power of God is for us “who are being saved.” Notice it did not say to those who “are” saved. This power of God is for those of us who are in the process of being saved. We are saved, of course, when we trust in Christ for salvation (Rom. 10:13). Our salvation is also future because we will be saved from God’s wrath that is to come (1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9). Yet we find ourselves in the in-between time of salvation past and salvation future. We are in salvation present—we are in the process of being saved.

It is crucial that we do not neglect the regular intake of the “word of the cross” in the in-between time. Many of us do not consider this regular intake to be necessary. We mistakenly think that the Gospel message only relates to our entrance into the Christian life. Now that we are saved, we reason, we have moved on to more mature things or so we think. This is a critical mistake that can have devastating consequences.

If we fail to remind ourselves daily of the word of the cross, we can easily lapse into works righteousness or a performance mentality. We will make the same mistake the Galatians made and try to perfect ourselves in the flesh (Gal. 3:3). If we fail to feed daily on the word of the cross, we can slide into self-condemnation when we sin. We will forget that our present status in Christ is “no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1). If we do not regularly drink from the word of the cross, our lives will be parched. We will not walk in the living hope we have in Christ (1 Pet. 1:3).

The word of the cross is the most important word in the Christian life. We need to regularly and consistently walk in its power. It is the power of God for salvation yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Soli Deo Gloria!

© 2009, Cary M. Paulk

Admittedly, there is much to be cynical about. I, like many of you, am angry when I see our government do things to help our economy that make no sense (i.e., put our country into more debt). I get angry when I see people promoting class hatred (rich against the poor or poor against the rich) with their self righteous rhetoric. I am also saddened when I see young men murdered in my city because they got into a minor fender bender in a city parking garage. Yes, I know, it makes you want to say, “Stop the world. I want to get off.”

Yet, God has not called us to a life of cynical pessimism. God has called us to hope.

1 Peter 1:13 says, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I call this living with the end in mind.

When we fail to live with this end in mind, we can become cynical. I call it running a marathon and looking at the ground. Do this and you will not run very far. Instead, we should run with the finish line in view. We keep our eyes looking forward. I believe as we do this our minds are prepared for action. We are realistic (sober-minded) yet optimistic—we experience God’s grace in the present and we are excited about experiencing God’s grace in the future.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Remember the poor.

-- Galatians 2:10

Why does God allow so many of His children to be poor? He could make them all rich if He pleased; He could lay bags of gold at their doors; He could send them a large annual income; or He could scatter around their houses abundance of provisions, as once he made the quails lie in heaps around the camp of Israel and rained bread out of heaven to feed them. There is no necessity that they should be poor, except that He sees it to be best. "The cattle on a thousand hills"¹ are His--He could supply them; He could make the rich, the great, and the mighty bring all their power and riches to the feet of His children, for the hearts of all men are in His control. But He does not choose to do so. He allows them to experience need; He allows them to struggle in poverty and obscurity. Why is this?

There are many reasons. One is, to give us, who are favored with enough, an opportunity of showing our love to Jesus. We show our love to Christ when we sing of Him and when we pray to Him; but if there were no needy people in the world, we should lose the sweet privilege of displaying our love by ministering by our gifts to His poorer brethren. He has ordained that in this way we should prove that our love stands not only in word, but in deed and in truth. If we truly love Christ, we will care for those who are loved by Him. Those who are dear to Him will be dear to us.

Let us then look upon it not as a duty but as a privilege to relieve the poor of the Lord's flock, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."² Surely this assurance is sweet enough, and this motive strong enough to lead us to help others with a willing hand and a loving heart--recollecting that all we do for His people is graciously accepted by Christ as done to Himself.

¹ Psalm 50:10
² Matthew 25:40

Question 82: Which is the ninth commandment?

Answer: The ninth commandment is “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Scripture: Exodus 20:16

Question 83: What is required in the ninth commandment?

Answer: The ninth commandment requires that we maintain and promote truth between persons and that we preserve the good name of our neighbor and ourselves.

Scripture: Zechariah 8:16; Acts 25:10; Ecclesiastes 7:1; 3 John 12; Proverbs 14:5, 25.

Question 84: What is forbidden in the ninth commandment?

Answer: The ninth commandment forbids whatever dishonors truth, or injures our own or our neighbor’s good name.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:25; Psalm 15:3; 2 Corinthians 8:20-21

I hope you can join us for our consideration of the ninth commandment this Sunday—“Promoting Truth.” To catch up on sermons in this series that you have missed, click here.

Soli Deo Gloria!

I get very nervous, however, when our government starts talking about end of life care at the same time they are debating and promoting more government control of our healthcare. Our government has shown that they do not value life in the womb so what makes anyone think that they would value life pre-tomb. If government fully controls our healthcare, then government will be deciding (eventually) what care is cost effective and what is not.

I am personally not comfortable with that and I pray that America wake up before it is too late.

Soli Deo Gloria!

We who were called to be Your people

Struggling sinners and thieves

We’re lifted up from the ashes
And out came the song of the redeemed
The song of the redeemed
The song of the redeemed

(Watch Sound of Melodies Video)

The grace of God really washes over me when I consider that I, a struggler sinner and thief, was called to be in the company of the redeemed. The law caused me to look at myself in the mirror and convinced me of my need of a Savior. God rescued me from the ashes and now I sing with the rest, “I once was lost but now I’m found.”

Soli Deo Gloria!

Privileges

O Lord God,

Teach me to know that grace precedes, accompanies, and follows my salvation, that it sustains the redeemed soul, that not one link of its chain can ever break.

From Calvary’s cross wave upon wave of grace

reaches me,

deals with my sin,

washes me clean,

renews my heart,

strengthens my will,

draws out my affection,

kindles a flame in my soul,

rules throughout my inner man,

consecrates my every thought, word, work,

teaches me thy immeasurable love.

How great are my privileges in Christ Jesus!

Without him I stand far off, a stranger, and outcast;

In him I draw near and touch his kingly scepter.

Without him I dare not lift up my guilty eyes;

In him I gaze upon my Father-God and Friend.

Without him I hide my lips in trembling shame;

In him I open my mouth in petition and praise.

Without him all is wrath and consuming fire;

In him is all love, and the repose of my soul.

Without him is gaping hell below me, and eternal anguish;

In him its gates are barred to me by his precious blood.

Without him darkness spreads its horrors in front;

In him an eternity of glory is my boundless horizon.

Without him all within me is terror and dismay,

In him every accusation is charmed into joy and peace.

Without him all things external call for my condemnation;

In him they minister to my comfort,

And are to be enjoyed with thanksgiving.

Praise be to thee for grace,

And for the unspeakable gift of Jesus.

(This selection is on pp. 284-285 in the Banner of Truth edition)

Amen, amen and amen. Soli Deo Gloria!

I finally read The Shack. Actually, I finished reading it a month ago and I am just getting around to blogging about it. Last time I checked it was still number 1 on the New York Times paperback fiction bestseller list.

I am not one of those who tell people not to read books. I have never been on the book banning wagon. I think that informed Christians should read a diversity of literature but read discerningly. We should filter ideas and worldviews espoused in all media through a biblical filter. Nevertheless, I would not buy this as a Christmas gift for anyone.

The Shack is a work of fiction and should be treated as such. We should never build our theology on works of fiction. That being said, it is obvious The Shack was written for the express purpose of communicating some ideas or at least illustrating some ideas about God. For instance, consider some of the quotes from the book’s cover. Eugene Peterson says, “This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!” Michael W. Smith says, “The Shack is the most absorbing work of fiction I’ve read in many years. My wife and I laughed, cried, and repented of our own lack of faith along the way. The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God.”

After reading The Shack, I did not have the same experience as Peterson or Smith. My first impression was that it was just plain weird. God revealing himself as an African American woman (Papa) and a new-agey feeling Asian woman (Sarayu) is just weird. It was difficult for me to get into the story because of the weirdness. I guess I just can’t get over the male language used for God in the Bible.

There are many ideas communicated about God in this book that are cause for great concern. I will only mention a few. One heretical idea is the author’s belief that there is no hierarchy in the Trinity. Consider the following quote from page 122:

Mackenzie, we have no concept of final authority among us, only unity. We are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command or ‘great chain of being’ as your ancestors termed it. What you’re seeing here is relationship without any overlay of power. We don’t need power over the other because we are always looking out for the best. Hierarchy would make no sense among us. Actually, this is your problem, not ours.

1 Cor. 15:28 makes it quite clear that there is a hierarchy in the Trinity.

Another idea communicated by The Shack is that God the Father was present with Jesus on the cross. Consider the following quote from page 96:

“Don’t ever think that what my son chose to do didn’t cost us dearly. Love always leaves a significant mark,” she stated softly and gently. “We were there together.”

Mack was surprised. “At the cross? Now wait, I thought you left him—you know—‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’” It was a Scripture that had often haunted Mack in The Great Sadness.

“You misunderstand the mystery there. Regardless what he felt at that moment, I never left him.”

To interpret Jesus’ words from Matt. 27:46 to mean that Jesus only felt abandoned is a gross stretching of the text. Jesus was abandoned because he bore the sin of the whole world when he was on the cross. 2 Cor. 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). God poured out his wrath on the Son so that we could become the righteousness of God. Yes, it was total and complete abandonment. Why all the darkness and drama in the Matthew passage (Matt. 27:45-54)? The drama and the darkness was the result of the most glorious and holy God withdrawing himself from his Son.

I can understand why Young (the author) makes this mistake. He is interpreting Scripture from a therapeutic lens. I assume that Young wants to communicate the idea that God never abandons his children. Why mangle the Matthew passage with a weird interpretation when you could always go to Hebrews 13:5? Hebrews 13:5 communicates clearly the idea that God does not abandon his children. There are therapeutic benefits in being a child of God, however, we must not begin the interpretation process with a therapeutic benefit and then go searching the Scriptures to make them fit a particular benefit. In other words, we must let the Scripture speak for itself.

If you would like a more thorough examination and review of The Shack, I recommend you read Tim Challies’ review at the following link: http://www.challies.com/archives/book-reviews/a-review-of-the-shack-download-it-here.php

I recommend reading The Shack so that you can understand some of the different ideas about God that are surfacing in our country. I do not, however, recommend that you embrace the ideas communicated in The Shack. Sola Scriptura—Scripture alone should be the final authority on matters of faith and practice and not a work of fiction however compelling or therapeutic it may be.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Jesus was very effective at stating the essentials in a few words. When asked by the finest legal minds of his time, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matt. 22:36-40) The Great Commandment states the essentials of Christian living—loving God and loving people.

When it comes to loving my neighbors, I confess that I am often overwhelmed by the task. I breathe up the quick prayer, “How Lord?” while hoping that he really does not tell me how to love my neighbor because I just might have to do something that makes me uncomfortable. I just might have to get out of my comfortable La-Z-boy ™ and do something. I know, I know. Your “free” time is precious. You’re maxed out with little time for yourself. Join the crowd.

Paul answers the “how” question for us in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

I love the first part of that passage. God comforts me in all my affliction. When it comes to the second part of that passage—the reason why God comforts me—I have a little difficulty. I am comforted so that I can comfort others. My difficulty is that I often feel ill equipped to comfort someone who may be afflicted in an area I know absolutely nothing about. I feel uncomfortable comforting them in that particular affliction. Yet, this passage says specifically that I am comforted so that I can “comfort those who are in any affliction.”

God does not give me the luxury of choosing which afflicted neighbors I comfort. God does the choosing. God’s choice is “any affliction.” Whether my neighbor struggles in the area of same-sex attraction, alcoholism, sexual addiction, overeating, parenting teenagers or obsessive-compulsive behaviors, I am given the ability by God to comfort them. I may or may not feel qualified or capable of providing someone comfort, however, that is not the issue. The issue is whether or not I will obey God and provide the comfort that He enabled me to give.

The ability to comfort others comes through the crucible of suffering. Even though my suffering may not be the same or as intense as my neighbor’s, God gives me the ability to comfort others with the very same comfort He gave to me. How does God make my comfort received applicable to someone else’s situation that may be radically different from my own? I do not know how neither do I need to know how God does this. I just know that He does it.

I encourage you to take a second look at your neighbors—your fellow church members, your co-workers, and the neighbors that live around you. Ask God to show you which neighbors need your comfort. As God reveals them to you, share some of your comfort with them. “Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Cor. 1:7) Are you a comforting neighbor?

Soli Deo Gloria!

I have included in this post the following article in its entirety. This article can be found on the Kairos website at the following link:

The Blessings of Economic Panic

It brings out an aspect of the economic crisis that I believe is important to consider. Soli Deo Gloria!

The Blessings of Economic Panic

As September 2008 drew to a close, headlines screamed, “Stocks Plunge,” (New York Times), “Dark Monday,” and “Fear Grips Investors” (Chicago Tribune). Talk of another Great Depression and economic “cardiac arrest” filled the airwaves.

No doubt, these are sobering times, particularly for those who define heaven as material affluence and financial security. But for believers who count the nation’s spiritual health paramount, this scare may be a blessing in disguise.

In the fall of 1857, financial fears were rampant. “On the 14th of October . . . the extensive banking system of the United States of America collapsed . . .”¹ “Shoe factories in new England closed their doors, and steel mills in Pennsylvania were out of work for months.”² “On November 10th, crowds of riotous men assembled in Wall Street, threatening to force an entrance into the Treasury Building and Custom House to seize the $20,000,000 stored in the vaults.”³

The economy was near death, but God was very much alive. Through His servant, Jeremiah Lanphier, the Lord had begun a work on September 23. Having announced a noon prayer meeting at the Dutch Reformed Church on New York’s Fulton Street, he had only six takers that first day. The next week, 20 showed up, and the next, 30-40. Then, on the day of bank disaster, October 14, over 100 assembled at the church.⁴ Before long, thousands were meeting daily for prayer at various churches throughout the city. (For instance, 6,110 were counted on March 21, 1858.)⁵

Before the fires of revival cooled in 1858, city after city joined New Yorkers in noontime prayer. All told, over a million souls were added to the churches of America in this season of awakening.⁶

Who knows but that God will use the present fears to stir revival in the land. Whatever the Lord’s plans, surely His people should pray that not an ounce of the current anxiety would be wasted, but that God would use it all to turn the wayward and backslidden to Himself.

Footnotes:

I am not a prophet nor is this a prophetic pronouncement. It is just some of my musings concerning our current economic situation.

At our prayer meeting last week, some of us sensed that the Lord is using our economic situation to shake our country. It kind of makes sense if you think about it for a minute. What is the best way to get the attention of people living in the land of “economic opportunity?”

Politicians are quick to blame each other for the economic crisis. Rare is the politician who honestly admits his or her culpability in the crisis. They are blinded by the logs in their own eyes while they sanctimoniously point out the speck in the eyes of others.

God did not cause our economic crisis our greed did. Our problem in America (including the American Church) is greed. We are full of greed (i.e., the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions 1 John 2:16). Jesus pronounced woe on the Scribes and Pharisees for their greed and self indulgence (Matt. 23:25). Paul warns the Church not to associate with a “so called” brother who is guilty of greed (1 Cor. 5:11). These words have fallen on deaf ears in the ranks of the American prosperity gospel. Paul told the Thessalonian believers that he was not in ministry as a “pretext for greed” (1 Thess. 2:5). Peter warns us that false teachers will exploit you in their greed (2 Pet. 2:3) and says their hearts are trained in greed (2 Pet. 2:14).

Greed obviously has no place in the church yet we have “sanctified” our greed. We call it God’s “favor.” We justify our greed by proof texting verses like Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)” God is not amused nor is He impressed by our theological gymnastics and perverting of His word.

I have no idea how bad our economic situation will become. It may get better. I simply do not know. I pray it gets better yet in my heart I am convicted of my own greed. God has my attention. Does He have yours? Join me in casting off the chains of greed (Repenting) and turning to the freedom of following the God who supplies all our need (not greed) according to His riches in glory.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Sometimes our discipleship of new believers is imbalanced. We are heavy on the nurture side and light on the challenge side or light on the nurture side and heavy on the challenge side. We usually attribute this imbalance to our personalities. We conveniently say things like, “I’m just a tough love kind of person” or “I’m just a caring person.” These excuses, however, do not pass biblical muster.

The Apostle Paul did not use his personality as an excuse to be imbalanced in his approach to discipleship. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7 he says, “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.” This is the nurturing side of discipleship. In 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 he says, “For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted…and encouraged…and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.” This is the challenge side of discipleship. Both aspects of discipleship are necessary—the mothering role and the fathering role. I think it is significant that Paul, one who is commonly thought of as rough and abrasive, speaks of employing both roles in the discipleship process.

I encourage you to seek balance in your discipling relationships with other believers. If we want to see balanced Christians in our churches, we must disciple them in a balanced way.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Check out the opinion piece by Crispin Sartwell at the following link: "The fundamental right to choose." It is always refreshing to hear from an atheist who is intellectually honest. It seems that many prochoice people are not really prochoice at all.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Let me encourage you not to get caught up in the hype of political campaigns. Both sides are guilty of hype. Look through the glitter and marketing and listen to what the candidates are actually saying. Determine what issues matter the most to you and listen closely to the candidates positions on those issues. Most importantly, do not check your Christian values at the door when you go to vote. It is absolutely imperative that you vote for the candidate that best represents your moral values. There are moral absolutes that we as Christians cannot compromise. If a candidate is fuzzy on absolutes such as abortion and gay marriage, that should be a red flag. It is also important that we consider the entire package of the candidate as well. I have seen many candidates who got the abortion and gay marriage issue correct yet they supported irresponsible policies that made it difficult for those in poverty to succeed. So, consider the whole package.

Remember, God is sovereign. Whoever occupies the oval office will not be a surprise to God. Remember also that God is not limited by the person who occupies the White House. I have heard it said many times before: God does not ride on the back of a donkey or an elephant. Pray for this election cycle and for our next president. But, please...Don't get caught up in the hype.

Soli Deo Gloria!