Reflecting on His Word

Monday, June 17, 2019

Besetting Sin

This Sunday we spoke about besetting sin in light of our continued study of Genesis. (Hebrews 12:1-2) We’re in chapter 20 of Genesis where, once again, Abraham has told that familiar half-truth: “Sarah is my sister”. Of course, she WAS his half-sister, but that kernel of truth was overshadowed by the fact of his attempt to deceive because of his fear of what men might do to him. Here is a man who willingly, by faith, picked up and moved his entire family to a strange land because God had bidden him, yet he could not trust God to protect him in this matter. It seems incongruous to us at first blush, but just as Paul had noted (Romans 7:15-20), we too fail to do that which we would, and continue in that which we wouldn’t.

I do not pretend to have left besetting sin entirely in my past, but will share with you a three-pronged strategy to do battle; in addition to regular Bible reading, prayer, and worship; that should help one find reasonable hope of victory.

First, we need to lay aside the weight. Simply put, we need to put that sin from us. Ask God to help. Be honest and humble, owning your sin and asking His help to forsake it, putting forth earnest effort. 1 Corinthians 9:24 Build in safeguards. Break habits and routines that facilitate the sin, while developing habits and routines that defy that sin. Loose yourself from the entanglements of that sin. Romans 13:14

Next, endure the trial that it is sure to be. Just as a good soldier endures hardship, we, as soldiers of Christ need to endure this too. 2 Timothy 2:3-5 We need to willing do the uncomfortable thing. Our will must be submissive to His. James 4:7

Finally, we need focus on Jesus with a desire away from the flesh and mindful of spiritual things. Romans 8:5-6 If we are focused on our Lord, He can do so much more with us. And, of course, He will provide top notch management of your life! Isaiah 26:3 After all, He is the author and finisher of our faith and has begun a good work in you and He will be faithful to complete it! Phil 1:6

Saturday, June 1, 2019

Complete Obedience

We’re in Genesis chapter 17 this week and talking about Abraham’s complete obedience.

Though he had some weak moments in is his faith such as his trip to Egypt and his deception there, (Egypt usually representing the world or worldliness) and a particularly bad lapse: his procreation through Sarah’s handmaiden (an Egyptian), Abraham is now completely obeying God. God had promised BIG things to/through Abraham, but his spotty obedience created consequences that we can witness to this day. It is vitally important that we obey God completely.

Complete obedience can be manifested and observed in a variety of ways. This is not an exhaustive list but as few highlights.

First of all we need to obey God in His authority, but obey those earthly authorities appointed over us. Not blind followers of any who would presume themselves leaders, but those rightly appointed especially those who have tended to our spiritual upbringing and nurture. Hebrews 13:7

Next, we need to plan to finish well. We need to well consider what that means to our daily walk. In the parable of the two sons, we see examples with a stark contrast. Matthew 21:28-32 The one son initially refuses, but ends up in obedience, while the other son gives lip service, but, in the end, is not obedient. This second response, I’m afraid, is all too prevalent in our churches today. We make a fine show of believing and obeying, but when we walk at those doors into our work-a-day world, obedience is more scarce than our “show” on Sunday would seem to promise.

Finally, we need to do the whole job. When Jesus pronounced His “woes” upon the Scribes and Pharisees, He admonished them for seeing to the outer cleansing, but failing to complete inward cleansing. Matthew 23:23-28 Of course there is much talk these days about God “looking on the heart” and not necessarily the outward man, but that, lately, is nearly universally grievously miscarried. For the inward man is the author of the outward man. We ought to have done the inward and not left the other undone. It is not enough to do the outside and not the inside as the Scribes and Pharisees, nor is it any bit more acceptable to claim the inward man is in order while the outward man is ignored or excused. If the inward man WERE in order, the outward would also be in order.

We, like the Scribes and Pharisees before us, suffer from “incomplete obedience” which is silly talk for disobedience. In the first chapter of the book of James, we’re admonished about our obedience:

23For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

We MUST be doers of the Word in all things and in all ways.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

What's In a Name?

What’s In a Name?

First of all I think it’s important to point out that changing a label doesn’t change what’s inside. I know a couple who, when they went on their honeymoon, their “friends” got into their place and removed and switched all of the labels on their canned goods. This is a swell prank, but it does nothing for what’s in the cans. In the case of the switched label, the label only serves to disappoint. Of course, if the contents of the can have changed, a label change would be in order. But in the case of a church, the contents wander the town Monday through Saturday revealing for all to see, just what the contents of that church are. So why the need for a label change when it’s plain to all what’s inside?

If there has been a change and it’s a change for the better, I’m truly happy for you. You may call me a pessimist for saying so, but true change is rare. Perhaps it’s not a name change to tell us that you’ve changed, but a name change to hide the change. If you call yourself “Baptist”, it brings with it a whole slew of expectations. Perhaps you feel that you can no longer live up to such a “rigid” and “intolerant” set of standards as found in Scripture. It is, after all, quite stylish, even intellectual, to set aside “archaic” guidelines and chart your own course. That all sounds good when chatting up lost folk in the marketplace, but casting off the “stuffiness” of Scripture is folly. Additionally, the new and vague label of non-denominational leaves your church in a category all alone thereby depriving you of the help of neighboring churches who are confessionally the same, holding you accountable for doctrine and practice. Dr. Albert Mohler rightly points out: “…theological disaster usually comes by means of drift and evasion, shading and equivocation.” Losing accountability by “avoiding the labels” can put you on a slippery slope. If you have truly changed, changed so much that a label change is in order, perhaps a safety check is in order too. After all, not all change is good. If it’s your desire to become one of those casual Friday, rock concert, “don’t talk of commands, I’m under Grace” kind of churches, please let me spare you some trouble. “Seeker friendly” has been tried and found to be a silly mistake. John 2:15-17 If what people want would draw them to Jesus, churches and the Holy Spirit would be out of work. John Piper said: “The world doesn’t need more cool, hip, culturally savvy, irrelevant copies of itself.” John 12:32 Perhaps the best way to draw people to Him would be to tell them of His sacrifice and how it can be their redemption. In other words, maybe we should simply share the Gospel with them. Yes, I’m sure I read that somewhere. You see we are to be transformed so that we can prove (to the world) what God’s deal is. Romans 12:2

I have a feeling that there is another factor at work here. The more blogs, books, and essays I read, the more I detect an undercurrent of misunderstanding. Apparently, it’s a common mistake, but it seems many want to change everything that reminds them of church from their childhood. I’m sure it seemed dreadful and boring to them, but their mistake is that they assume that the “fault” was the church. What they fail to realize is that, to a child without understanding, even exciting churches will seem dull. So all the stuff that they hated about church, all the stuff they’ve longed to fix, weren’t necessarily broken after all. Their approach to rectifying these perceived errors makes about as much sense as attempting to salve the sting of getting dumped by a girlfriend by finding a girl who looks just like her, getting her to be your girlfriend, then dumping her. I suppose that this could make you feel better, but it would actually accomplish nothing positive. In order to refine gold, we must adhere to a certain process. One cannot simply decide to “do something else” to refine gold. Well, you can decide that, but it won’t work! The same principle holds true with the refining of the church. The formula for the process is simple: much preaching, teaching, and reading of the Word, add much prayer, and then apply the fire of life and its hurts etc., and Voila! Refining takes place. The gold will be refined and the dross will be consumed.

Finally, advertising geniuses will tell you that the name of a business or product is very important. It can be a bad choice to try to say too much in the name, but worse to say too little. The problem with new names is that they don’t really tell us anything because there is little to no history to add meaning. In spite of some bad examples, the name Baptist informs of several doctrinal stands. It speaks of fierce independence, the importance of Scripture, and of course, the importance of and proper application of baptism. Our name is a chance to preach to our society. Martin Luther said we should be a “mouth house”. Romans 1:16 If we truly are not ashamed of the Gospel, shall we not avail ourselves of the opportunity to preach that Gospel through our name?

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Dressing for Church

Nearly everybody in America has heard of the Tony Award® winning musical Fiddler on the Roof. The major theme in the book by Joseph Stein is Tevye’s attempt to maintain his family and Jewish traditions while modern ideas lure those around him away.

This theme works well because of its universal appeal. This is the age-old battle between generations. Life in the Church is not immune to the pull of this battle. However, we owe it to ourselves, our progeny, and The Lord to make sure we break from the cycle and make our decisions based on a proper, Biblical perspective. Remember, “We’ve always done it that way” is no reason to do something, and no reason to not do something either!

The following is the first installment of an open-ended series of topics that follow this vein.

There is a movement well underway to reverse the historical custom of “dressing up” for church. Many cite comfort for their bent while others insist that being “too formal” could drive away prospects by making them feel uncomfortable. Still others say that this habit is outmoded and irrelevant. Let’s take a brief look into the matter.

You may be too young to remember that in “olden times” we called the place that we gathered for worship the “Sanctuary”. Obviously, it was understood that the individual Christians gathered together were “the Church” but the term, obviously, bears the idea of sanctification. Sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man.² Romans 6:13 To sanctify is “to make holy, to set apart as sacred, consecrate”.¹ Consecration is the devoting or setting apart of anything to the worship or service of God. In the New Testament, Christians are regarded as consecrated to the Lord.² 1Pet 2:9 “As we dedicate our church buildings, we set them apart for sacred uses, the service and worship of God. As the vessels of the Temple were dedicated or sanctified for special and sacred purposes, so of God’s people.³ Naturally, with the idea of sanctification, the concept of quality follows closely behind. Weren’t the Children of Israel chided for making a practice of bringing blind, halted, and diseased sacrifices before Him? Are we not instructed to present ourselves “…holy, and acceptable unto God…”? Rom 12:1 Perhaps I have missed something, but I can’t find the passage in Scripture that says: “Oh, don’t make a fuss!”

Many folks will say: “I’m just not comfortable dressed up.” Well, I would point out that, if worship is about your comfort, then it really isn’t worship at all. I remember very clearly when I got myself to a church because God had revealed Himself to me through the wonder of creation. I got my appearance together as best I could, but I would not be dissuaded from surrendering to God. I didn’t know what to do and had never seen a Baptist service or any invitation before. None the less, when the pastor extended the invitation, I immediately, and almost running, got down that aisle and, in spite of my lack of knowing the “lingo” indicated what I had come for. I didn’t know or care what anyone thought. Furthermore, it’s plain to see to anyone that if a seeker is at all serious, he will not be intimidated by anybody’s dress. If we’re kind, and winsome, any awkwardness that they might have felt will be instantly dispelled in the face of our welcoming spirit.

When The Lord commanded the building of the tabernacle and later the temple, He was painting an elaborate picture of His plan to be with His people. Everything in the temple had meaning and pointed to and honored the Lamb to come, The Christ. The varying substances and materials speak of his purity, holiness, etc.. Likewise, the priests made elaborate preparation following complex instructions to the letter. However, at Jesus’ death, the veil was torn signifying our access to the Holy of Holies eliminating the need for an intermediary. The “priesthood of the believer” that resulted allowed for direct and personal access to the very throne room of God. However, there was no corresponding incident indicating that what would take place as we met God would be any less important than it had been in the past. The gold did not turn to rusty iron, nor the bronze to clay. The veil was the only “casual-ty” that day.

Finally, for all of you students of culture, intellect and understanding who mistakenly take the phenomenon of dressing up as purely western or American, I would like you to consider that every people group that has ever existed on this planet either dressed up or did something special with their appearance for important occasions. It is deep within who we are to honor what is important with how we dress. Even if somehow one has escaped the bonds of his humanity (which he cannot), and no longer need to dress for what’s important, he remains a witness of Christ, and, as such has an obligation of a clear testimony regardless of the happenings within popular culture. You see, the rest of humanity may fight that inner voice, the urge, to honor the important and not want to dress up for anything, but our testimony must still point to a Holy God, worthy of honor. Our Lord still desires our sanctification.

Thomas Aquinas provides one more model for engaging clothing. He believed we have a moral obligation to compose our outward manners—including our dress—in light of the person we are addressing, the company we are with, the business we are pursuing, and the place we are in. He claimed that a truly virtuous life includes the art of savoir faire—“a sense of occasion discerning differences of situation”—and that this should inform the clothing we wear.⁴

He still desires to be glorified in the Temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 To defy this represents an agenda outside of what we are, focused on self, juxtaposed to scripture and, therefore dishonoring to God.

So, in this case, at least, the problem seems to have been that we forgot why “…we did it that way”. The tradition wasn’t wrong at all, we just forgot to keep teaching the “why” of it.

1 Dictionary.com

2 Easton’s Bible Dictionary

3 What Baptists Believe and Why They Believe It JG Bow, D.D.

4 “The Biblical Meaning of Clothing” In Christianity Today Robert Covolo/ August 28, 2015

Saturday, August 22, 2015

The Ultimate Proof

The other day a friend posted, on Facebook, a couple of Graphics that illustrated the vastness of the universe. This reminded me of two things: how I came to know Jesus, and how most scientists cite their science for why they don’t believe in God. I respect people who live by their convictions. To be able to hypothesize, experiment, conclude, repeat and prove is very slick. It removes all doubt and leaves the scientist with every reason to believe these things until the day he dies. However, this requires (especially if these are important, life and death matters.) a very strict adherence to the scientific method, yes? The quest for truth must be pure and honest and the scientist must accept the findings. Agreed? Well do I have an experiment for you!

Assuming that we all agree that if there is a God out there, and we discover Him we would naturally want to relate to Him; even follow Him, right? The thesis question is: Is there a God?. The theory is that God does exist. So, the task is to set up an accurate and reproducible experiment to prove the existence of God. Don’t get antsy on me. Obviously we cannot prove that something does not exist. That wouldn’t be scientific.

Here is the experiment. With that open, very scientific mind, determined to relate to God if you find Him, simply say silently in your heart: “God, if you exist, show yourself to me, and I will give myself to you.” I can almost hear people saying aloud: That’s a rip off! That’s not scientific! Perhaps the method is, after all the posturing not scientific. However, to declare it faulty without a test would also be unscientific. I submit, for those doubtful of the experiment, the easiest way to prove that I am a religious idiot is to go ahead and conduct the experiment. Conduct the experiment exactly as stated. If you fail to do so, you forever will have ignored the assertion based on prejudice rather than scientific proof rendering you a poor scientist and forever without a conclusive answer on the topic. Of course, if you are a good scientist, you must test it or make no declaration. However, most will never do this because, like those who thought the earth was flat, you can’t deal with the truth, and what it might do to your little world, but choose to skew your findings to fulfill your “science”. Are you a good scientist? Do the experiment. I dare you.

I know that this experiment works because I conducted it myself in 1973. I did it just that way. I figured if there is a God, I would want to serve Him, but if there is not, it would not hurt to conduct the test. I had a limited understanding of prayer and knew of silent prayer and figured, if this God was indeed God, He could surely hear my silent prayers. So, silently, secretly, and with solemn intent, I made Him the offer. Soon everything in my world began to change. I beheld the stars and did not see a big bang. I saw a child and did not see an evolutionary step. I saw in nature around me an unmistakable harmony, and rhythmic pattern that was undoubtedly God’s doing! Now, since he now lives in me, He manifests Himself to me and gives me peace and assurance that He does indeed exist.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Oh Infamous Day!

My heart is filled with an exceptional sadness today. Today the SCOTUS will promote homosexuality and so called same-sex marriage as something normal that is an unabridgable right

Obviously, lost folks are going to do what lost folks do. Obviously, homosexuality is perverse and/or maladaptive behavior. These are the facts and there is no disputing them. This does make me sad, but it’s not the cause for me to write.

The reason that I am writing, the reason that I am so inconsolably sad is the “Christian” response to all of this. It’s not like it’s a tough subject to encapsulate. I was able to do it in two sentences. And it’s not like there is some deep, dark mystery within God’s Word that must be plumbed meticulously for years to determine God’s answer on the matter. It’s a one-word answer: sin. . (Genesis 19:4-9; Leviticus 18:22; Proverbs 3:32; 11:20; et al)

There is a commonly accepted principle for dealing with Scripture: “We must not speak where Scripture is silent.” I would like to propose the converse: “We must not be silent where Scripture is specific and clear”.

To be certain, no one is being silent on this matter. Pundits and churchmen are waxing, oh so eloquently on the topic. And here is where my heart is being hurt. You see, to the man, all are talking around the subject, but none are saying (and certainly not so plainly as Scripture does) that it is sin. In fact some are implying that while “homosexuality is a sin, but being gay is not”. (Matthew 5:27-28) Yes, you heard right! Apparently, what they are trying to say is “God made me this way so it’s OK as long as I behave myself”. (James 1:13-14) Many are taking to this lie that came straight from the pits of hell and placing it in front of the pulpit still smelling of smoke and remarking: “Oh how beautiful are the flowers!”.

Now as to why someone would or could do such a thing, I can only venture to guess. Perhaps they feel that by placating the voices of the lost culture and repeating this lie, they can do more for the Kingdom than they could if they were to dare utter the truth as found in Scripture. Perhaps they are attempting to demonstrate their superior theological “muscles” by straining for things that are not there. Or maybe they think that they are being kind and showing that they are loving, warm, and fuzzy by talking all around the subject. Regardless of what they think that they are accomplishing, what they are really doing is failing to condemn it as sin and possibly confusing those who, quite obviously, are easily confused. Don’t get me wrong, I truly believe that we should love those overtaken in such. We should love all men regardless of their sin or condition. However, they cannot be saved from sin until we stop excusing the behavior for them and call it sin. (Isaiah 5:20)

Here is the bottom line. Regardless of what you may believe or intend, when you shilly shally about something that Scripture makes so abundantly clear, you make the Kingdom suspect by your sin. If you cannot come to grips with the fact that homosexuality, being gay, having same-sex attraction, or whatever the “euphemism de jour” is, then perhaps you should return to the basics of your relationship with the Savior.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Lent

Lent

This is the “long awaited” third installment on the topic of Lent.

Some folks put way too much stock in tradition and others too readily dismiss it.

This is not intended to be a scholarly rendition on the observance of Lent. Rather, my intent is to shed a bit of light so that folks can relax about it and gain from some version of its observance.

It seems to me that Baptists and Protestants get a little too worked up attempting to distance themselves from things that Catholics do, things that are not necessarily on the list of things that Catholics “do” that are wrong. Additionally, Baptists tend to lean away from liturgical practices such as observance of the church calendar, and even the teaching of church history that appear “too Catholic”. John Calvin labeled Lenten practices as superstitious. Of course, any practice can become superstitious, so let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. In spite of objections, some quite notable, I would say that there is something to be gained in an observance of Lent. Naturally, some of the traditional aspects such as mandatory alms, a sin-indulgent pre-observance “sin holiday” such as is usually called “fat Tuesday” and penance will need to be combed out. Let’s just call it “Lent light”.

Though some of the usual practices are undesirable, I think that we can agree about the benefits of fasting, prayer, self-discipline, practicing solemnity, and contemplating Christ’s sacrifice. Am I interested in promoting rituals and practices that pass as spirituality? No. However, I am interested in promoting customs that stir introspection and solemn meditation upon all that the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ mean to us as Christians.

Lent is observed for forty days, plus Sundays, before Easter. The 40 days is said to be a reflection of Jesus’ forty day fast in the wilderness. There are other examples of the number forty being associated with God’s redemptive plan such as Noah’s forty days and nights of rain and the Israelites’ forty year trek in the desert. God has often used symbolism in His Word and when dealing with His people. I like symbolism. Among the beneficial practices of Lent, there is usually some sort of mild self-discipline and self-sacrifice involved. Many will abstain from meat, or sweets, or something else by which they are tempted to indulge. Some will give up TV or other entertainment, or distraction so as to more thoroughly focus on Lent. The main things that I am interested in are: prayer, devotion, fasting and sacrifice.

Before I go further, I think that I should make it clear that I am not advocating anything so extreme as to threaten health or well-being, and am certainly not advocating prescribed or imposed measures. Each Christian should decide for himself what he shall do. While resisting the overly drastic, I would also shy away from sacrifices that are “too easy”. For example, I don’t think that there is much to be gained by children “giving up” their veggies, or dads giving up watching football that is now over. Also, giving up wrong behaviors or sins cannot count because that is called obedience and should not wait for Lent to be given up and certainly should not be taken up again at the conclusion of Lent. And, although there is nothing wrong with talking about how you are observing Lent with friends, lost or otherwise, I think it’s important to avoid drawing undue attention to what you are doing or being overly dramatic about how greatly you are sacrificing. The important thing is to choose something that will take some effort without being such a distraction that meditation and devotion are hindered.

Don’t worry too much about how others observe Lent. Simply observe the season in such a way as to heighten your awareness of and meditation upon what Easter means to you, and to us all.

This year, we will be using a devotional guide by Paul Wesley Chilcote, The Song Forever New. It is available in hard copy and e-version. We used his devotional guide for advent and enjoyed it.

http://www.amazon.com/Song-Forever-New-Easter-Charles-ebook/dp/B00C1QVCKS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421686208&sr=1-1&keywords=the+song+forever+new

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Drink

DRINK

We now find ourselves in times which, to me, are very sad. These are times spoken of in Scripture when men will stop up their ears and refuse to hear sound doctrine. These are times when folks who call themselves followers, will find increasingly more imaginative ways to dilute Scripture and rationalize sin and selfish behavior.

In these times, I have often been labeled as a legalist for attempting to teach the commands of Scripture. Of course, all of my accusers ignore the true, classical meaning of legalism: Trusting in the keeping of the law for salvation. At worst, I'm guilty of a hyper-vigilant "brand" of teaching Scriptural commands and teachings. The sad truth is that the modern "earstoppers" don't see that their "this much obedience and no more" brand of obedience is much more closely akin to legalism, and is actually not obedience at all. For if one says: “No, Lord", what he's really saying is that The Lord is really "no lord" at all. If He's not Lord of all, He's not Lord at all.

Some of the most common talking points of the proponents of drink are these: Jesus drank wine; a little wine for the belly's sake; I don't to get drunk; I'm covered by Grace and am not under the law; Paul said 'all things are legal'. I suppose, to some, these all sound good, but they don't really address the issue.

It's true that Jesus drank wine, but be not deceived, it was a vastly different sort than we have these days, not to mention the fact that the water was more dangerous than the wine. Jesus also had no refrigeration, no running water, no indoor plumbing and probably had lice and dissentary most of His life. We are not in those circumstances. Similarly, a little wine for the belly's sake was advice for treatment of a digestive disorder which was most likely caused by the water.

Finally, under the "I don't drink to get drunk"/"Scripture says 'don't get drunk', not 'don't drink' " column, I offer this: If being drunk is a sin, but drinking is not, where is the line drawn? Scientifically, it has been proven that even one drink produces deleterious effects on the health and a measurable impedement to judgement. So, how much of our minds is it OK to give away, and how “out of our minds” can we be and still not sin?

Very often in Scripture we are called to go far beyond the socially excepted norm and reach to greater heights of devotion and obedience. In Col 3:23-24 we are admonished to do all heartily as to The Lord. Jesus gave the following examples and others.

Murder. Matt 5:21-22

Lust. Matt 5:27-28

Forced servitude. Matt 5:40-41

Forgiveness. Matt 18:21-22

If these principles of excellence in obedience hold true in so many cases, can this same approach possibly not apply to drunkeness and drink? 1 Cor 6:19-20

From the first time alcohol is mentioned in Scripture (Gen 9:20-21) it is coupled with drunkeness and this drunkeness always accompanies a moral failure and is never associated with purity or godliness. Although wine and alcohol are mentioned frequently in Scripture, a similar abundance of references are devoted to warnings about alcohol. Here are just some of them: Lev 10:9; Num 6:3; Deut 21:20; Prov 20:1, 21:17, 23:20-21, 29-32, 31:4-5, Is 5:11-12, 28:1-3,7-8, 56:12, Hos 4:11, 7:5, Joel 1:5-6, 3:3 Amos 6:6-7, Matt 24:49-51, Luke 21:34, Rom 13:13, 1 Cor 6:10, Gal 5:21, Eph. 5:18, Heb. 2:15. For the sake of perspective, let us also note that adultery, slavery, multiple wives, and concubines are also mentioned in Scripture, but no one of repute mentions these things as "OK" or acceptable by virtue of their oft mentionedness.

After all of this, many will begin to object as if this were some pet notion of mine and that, if what I say is true, then these very standards should apply to all behaviors and that I have, therefore, painted myself into a corner. To this I say "yes". However, it is no corner. It is simply the passage from the very small "I'll only obey this much" room to the larger "my all on the alter, take up my cross" room. It may help to try these 8 tests which I borrowed.

Is it expedient spiritually?

Is it edifying to me?

Will it "slow me down" spiritually?

Will it bring me into bondage?

Will it hypocritically cover my sin?

Will it violate the Lordship of Christ in my life?

Will it help other Christians by it's example?

Will it lead others to Christ?

Certainly, our every action can't possibly pass all eight tests every time, but as it appears to me, alcohol doesn't pass muster on any of them!

There is precious little that can be said of alcohol that is "good", and much that can be said of it being "bad". My final point is this: To cling to alcohol is the very picture of tending to the flesh and ignoring the spirit. ...and he who is deceived thereby, is not wise. Prov. 20:1

Saturday, June 8, 2013

In the Camp of the True Believer

He that is of God, hears God’s Words. Those who are of the Truth hear His voice. John 8:47a ; John 18:37b

This is a strong and potentially condemning statement. Many would, even before finishing reading this statement, be in the throes of developing an argument that excuses them from any condemnation. Interesting, in that the statement makes no specific accusation. And even before the completion of the reading of this recent statement, maneuvering has begun again in the minds of some. It’s basic human nature. Please read on and do not stop.

Fear not gentle folk, for there are two more statements I can make that should assuage your fears.

1.) You are not alone in this for we all do this when we begin to suspect that we have made spiritual and intellectual “camp” in the wrong spot. I Corintians 10:13.

2.) God would not have you to be ignorant in such matters. Whether you be not yet of the fold, or simply a little distant from The Shepherd, either way, The Good Shepherd would want you to be of the fold and in the proper place. II Peter 3:9 ; Luke 19:10.

Now the greatest challenge to this is NOT getting into the fold or getting you back to the Shepherd. The greatest challenge is getting your mind and heart into the light of understanding. Knowing that you are not of the fold, or knowing that you are not in proper proximity to The Shepherd; these are the things that must first be arrived at.

At this point, I need to caution you. You see, I too have often “fortified” my position in defense of where I had “camped”. At times, I was afraid God would be so terribly restrictive if I gave Him ALL of the control. At others, I simply liked the location and decided what was best for me. Each of these is a Lordship problem and can either be due to lostness, or backsliddeness. (Admit it! You were beginning to “fortify” again, weren’t you!) The only thing that God can’t do in His relationship to you (Cannot because He will not, and not because He is too weak or insufficiently clever.) is to forcibly overcome your resistance to Him. Furthermore, such resistance places you in peril, because there is no guarantee that He will continue to seek you. Isaiah 55:6 ; Luke 13:24. You see, it is possible for you to “camp” outside of the fold or out of position within the fold and never recognize your error. This error could go unrecognized until your death when you wake up condemned to hell or ashamed of your service. Now, this is where the caution comes in. By “camping”, you resist The Light and without The Light, you are very likely to be mistaken about your locale. Sadly, some will be deceived and have never entered the sheep fold!

Satan is a masterful opponent. He makes illuminated maps and glow-in-the-dark compasses. As long as you fortify your “camp” and refuse the unction of The Spirit, as long as you refuse The Light by resisting The Shepherd, you are in danger. And if one belongs to The Shepherd already, can one truly “camp” and ever refuse to move? I think not!

The good news is, well, The Good News! You need only to observe the ABCs of salvation.

A. Admit that you have sinned. “For all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God.” Romans 3:23

B. Believe that Christ died for you. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God. Even unto them that believe on His Name.” John 1:12

C. Confess that Jesus is Lord of your life. “That if thou shalt confess with thou mouth The Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10: 9-10.

That is to give all rights to your life away and make Jesus the irrevocable Lord of your life. Will you please do that today? There are no “magic words”, but here is a sample prayer that conveys the right ideas:

Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner, but I am sorry for my sins. I want to turn from my sins; I am willing to begin a new life with your help. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and life right now. From this moment forward, my life belongs to You and You alone. I will love You, serve You, and tell others about You, and trust You to live Your life through me. Thank you Lord for coming into my life and for forgiving my sins today. Amen

Saturday, April 6, 2013

I Double Dare You!

(An open letter to Pastors)

I double dare you to read this letter! I must warn you though, you may think it silly and misguided. However, scarier to you is that, upon reading this, you may find yourself in a position of having to choose between the safe, predictable, self-styled “Christianity” you’ve come to love and a paradigm that leaves you on uncertain, risky ground for the rest of your life.

Who am I? I’m nobody. I am the son of nobody, and the father of nobody. I’m uneducated, inexperienced, and largely unproven. Why should you listen to me? Actually, I don’t want you to listen to me. What I want is for you to, after reading this, listen to God. If I’m wrong, you will not find agreement with me, so you can then press on to the next thing in your life. However, this is not to say that if you don’t find yourself in agreement that I am the one who is wrong. By definition, assuming a thoughtful, honest inquiry of God, if agreement is not found, at least one of us is wrong. It might be you. Sadly, because I’m addressing this to pastors, some of the men who read it will not get it because they don’t have the Holy Spirit living inside. It’s sad for any to be lost, but for a pastor…

I’m deeply saddened by the election results from this past November. Not so much about who was elected, but about who elected him. Americans. I personally have been a bit over-zealous in my nationalistic stance, but have sought to change. I have repented of my error, but am still saddened by ours. I feel that this nation has been blessed by God for a purpose and that we have squandered that opportunity. More than any other nation before us, we have had opportunity through freedom, wealth, and technology to spread the Gospel and to be salt and light. Collectively, we have failed. A cursory glance at the Church might give you all that you need to understand how we have failed. Then again, it might not. THAT is what this letter is about. I’m hoping that some of you men will be spurred to action.

The Church has played the harlot with many of the blessings our Lord has given. Like a foolish, unprincipled woman, the Church has invited in strange doctrines and lain with them. Somehow, we, like such a woman, might think that we have become popular because of our generous acceptance of these brutal strangers. Instead, we are sullied and impure, and it is a shame!

We dress our children like gang members and wonder why they have a bad attitude. We dress like “casual Friday” in the pulpit and wonder why our flock isn’t more serious about God. We repeat the world’s mantras: “Don’t judge”; “Never discuss religion and politics” and “One can witness without words”. We play “biker” and even have our pastors who “bless” motorcycles. We use euphemistic swear words and edgy language at church and even from the pulpit. We prop our feet up, drag in food and drinks, all the while hoping that the hand-held video game will be enough to entertain little Johnny, and call all of this worship. We excuse immaturity in the faith because “they are volunteers, we can’t expect things from them!” We tell ourselves that it would be wrong to tell our brother that he is in error because, after all, “He may not be at the same place in his walk”. We label things such as drinking, smoking, bingo and lottery as “questionable things” and trade our core beliefs for “peace at any price”. Most of this silliness is probably due to the fact that our “churches” are run by deacons, boards, committees, and elders, but no longer by pastors. (In my denomination we do have it as a part of our doctrinal statement, The Baptist Faith and Message, that we should operate our churches in a democratic fashion. I used to believe that, but cannot find it in scripture. I do, however, find that doing it this way is tearing down the denomination.) Following the wrong leadership has led us astray. Personal holiness is, these days, unheard of, while slick, nifty, and seeker-friendly are the way it’s done now.

Somewhere along the line we became convinced that we need to be relevant to the culture around us, when actually, we are to be counter cultural. Regrettably, being relevant to the culture puts us in opposition to what the Church should be. That puts us counter to our own church if we become (correctly) counter to the world.

At this point, let me be very clear that I am all too aware that at least 50% of the Church as we know it, (by conservative estimates) is not saved. Deciding who is and isn’t saved is not really our job, but measuring deeds (fruit) is. How many in our midst are lost is not as important as what we intend to do about it.

Now the answer to all of this, as it has been presented to me over the years, is: “You can’t change it overnight. It (the Church) is a big entity and must be turned slowly” and “You can’t just tell people what to do!” To all of this I pose the question made famous by Dr. Phil: How is that working for you? Many pastors that I love and respect shared these things with me over the years. At the time, I thought that I agreed, but, I’m sorry, now I really don’t. How are these things working for us? They are NOT! Not at all! We need to forsake the insanity of doing the same thing and expecting a different result.

Here is my recommendation. First, stop what you are doing, get in your closet, and surrender all of this to The Lord. We must be willing to do His will, to do the right thing, regardless of the personal cost. We must obey even if it means losing job, position, status, or standing in our denomination. Stay in your closet until there is no longer ”your” way of doing things and all you have is your walk with Jesus.

Next, gather your flock together and have a “family meeting”. Explain your errors, confess any misdirection, or explain the enlightenment. Whatever you want to call it, get with your people and let them know that things will be very different, then send them to their prayer closets.

In my mind I can hear every man reading this saying: “It doesn’t work this way!”. However, I say, “No, it doesn’t work the way we’ve been doing it. We’re failing.” I know it sounds crazy, but let’s try personal holiness and a deeper relationship with God. Let’s get really whacko and trust Him with everything and risk it all. We need to get back to being a community of accountability and disciple making, and it needs to happen now.

If you find yourself agreeing with me, spread the word. If you feel that I’m totally off my rocker, go ahead and share that with a friend and give them the letter, maybe they can use it. I may have said some things that are wrong, and I will gladly recant if such things are discovered. However, and more importantly, I definitely said some things that were right. Furthermore, I guarantee I’m headed in the right direction, the direction back to Jesus! So, even if your intent is to mock or belittle, the word will get out. I even began to feel a bit foolish in writing this, as it is quite simplistic and almost childish. However, I finished it because we need to get better. We MUST get better!

Now, if your response is: “Well, duh! Everyone knows that!” or “I’m already doing great, thank you.”, then you need to be reminded that it is not enough to understand the problem. To be counted a fit servant, we must put hand to plough and not look back. We need to be strong and courageous.

So my three main points are these: We need to develop a culture within our churches that allows for exhortation. (The de facto rule is: No.) We need to learn to trust God enough to follow the leadership of our Pastors instead of treating them like employees. And finally, we need to recapture the reverence for the things of God instead of the existing culture of: “I’m so spiritual I can be lackadaisical about it all!”

I do not fancy myself above any of you. I guess I kind of see myself as the boy pointing at the emperor in his “new clothes” and saying: “The emperor is not wearing any clothes!” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor's_New_Clothes

Regardless of how you feel about me or this letter, be man enough to make whatever radical changes are necessary to turn this thing around, because, THIS is the way out!

Glory be to God on high. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, for Thy great glory. Lord, I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me which I knew not. I heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee and I abhor myself in dust and ashes. O Lord, I will lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. But while I was musing the fire burned. Lord, I must speak of Thee, lest by my silence I offend against the generation of Thy children. Behold, Thou has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. O Lord, forsake me not. Let me show forth Thy power to everyone that is to come. Raise up prophets and seers in Thy Church who shall magnify Thy glory and through Thine almighty Spirit restore to Thy people the knowledge of the holy. Amen. – A.W. Tozer

Sincerely,

Robert C. Jackman

http://reflectingonhisword.blogspot.com/

robert.c.jackman@gmail.com

210-865-5133

60 Southland Dr.
Decatur, IL 62521
(address as of May 1, 2013)
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Latham, IL 62543

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