We’ve finally come back to looking at the sin of prayerlessness in the Church today. I think right off the bat we need to see that we are dealing with the lack of prayer IN THE CHURCH.
When we first started looking at this subject, we said that: We must fight the urge to look at sinners and compare ourselves to them. We tend to dwell on the sin in the world around us instead of examining our own hearts before God and dealing with the sin that is there. That is the focus of this study, our own hearts before God. Why, when we have been forgiven so much as God’s children, do we condemn the world for its hopelessly lost condition and then refuse to see our own sin as it is? Simply, it is because we don’t have any real idea of what our sin looks like to our holy God.
I hope to show you that the sin of prayerlessness is a heinous sin of the worst kind. The greatest sin that man is guilty of is not murder, child abuse or the greatest social injustice we can think of, but that he would not give glory to God. Lack of prayer in the life of a believer fails to give God glory on so many levels.
I asked awhile back if up until you have been forced to think about it, did you view the lack of prayer as a weakness or a sin? Knowing our true selves, it should not come as a surprise when many believers confess that they have always looked at it as a weakness, and not a great sin.
We’ve all looked back in the Old Testament and shook our heads at those pathetic Israelites who just couldn’t seem to stop worshipping idols. And, even if we don’t admit it, we think to ourselves, “What was wrong with those people? Why couldn’t they get it?” Hopefully, though, as soon as the thought enters our head we stop and confess our own sin of idolatry which is a daily affair.
“Idolatry,” according to Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “the worshipping of idols, is the greatest enemy that confronts us in the spiritual life. The greatest danger confronting us all is not a matter of deeds or of actions, but of idolatry.”
Idolatry is anything in our lives that occupies the place that should be occupied by God alone. It is anything that holds my life and my devotion, anything that is central in my life, anything by which I live or depend. It is anything to which I give much of my time and attention, my energy and my money. Anything that holds a controlling position in my life is an idol.
So we must be forced to ask ourselves these questions, ‘To what do I give the majority of my time and devotion?’ ‘What do I find myself thinking and talking the most about?’
The last time this subject was mentioned in this blog, I asked the following questions, ‘How much time do you spend in prayer? How much do you think would be enough? Would you say that your life is characterized more by living in the flesh or the Spirit?’ That is where I want to pick it up today.
At the onset, I want to stress that no matter if we spend four hours a day in prayer or less than five minutes in prayer, we should all feel as though we don’t pray enough. The holiness of our God and all that He has done for us demands that thought from us. Once the light of God’s Word shines upon our guilt, all excuses that come crashing into the forefronts of our minds should be smashed immediately before words are ever formed in our mouths. There is no excuse that suffices for the lack of prayer in the life of a child of God.
Instead, this sin needs to be acknowledged by each one of us in deep shame. Our hearts ARE desperately wicked above all else, and we should never question that or try to believe otherwise. There is way too much evidence of it.
We talked a little bit about the difference between the law and a compulsion in the life of a believer. While God does tell us repeatedly in His Word that we are to pray, it should be our greatest delight, and we should need no reminder to do that which delights us most. What three-year old needs to be told that he needs to spend time with a loving parent? Are you kidding me? On the contrary, there are multitudes of three-year olds in the care of others, for whatever reasons, who long for this time alone with their parents. Why? Because they love their mother and father. Mother and father are the whole world of the three-year old (after himself). There isn’t anything else that compares to spending time with the ones who loves him the most.
Believers are told to pray unceasingly. How could anyone make a command like that unless he understood that no one is going to earnestly pray night and day unless it is an internal compulsion, unless it is something that he longs to do. The desires of our hearts are the foundation for our actions. Simply put, we do what we want to do.
Natural man has evil desires. The reason he will have no excuse before a sovereign God on judgment day is because he ultimately followed the desires of his heart during his lifetime on earth. He had no desire to repent of his sin, believe in Christ or follow Him. On the other hand, believers get new desires at the time of their spiritual rebirth. They are born from above and have the same desires as those of their Father in heaven. He puts new desires in their hearts that reflect Him and His will. The compulsions we have as Christians, these right desires, are generated or prompted by the Spirit of God within us. The believer on judgment day will find himself in the eternal presence of God because of the desires that God placed in his heart to repent of his sins and believe on Christ for salvation. Due to the fact that God is sovereign over all aspects of salvation, that believer will stand there in humble gratitude before God and will be able to take no credit for his salvation or even acting on those desires that were given to him by God. Just as physical life is given by God and sustained by God, so, too is the spiritual life of the believer.
Our great and loving Father allows or sends afflictions and trials in our lives so that we will learn to run to Him for answers, for healing, for comfort, for EVERYTHING. Those who need God the most will pray the most. But, we must all learn to live close to Him and to abide in Him at all times. A three-year old child feels most safe and secure when his father or mother is near. During those times, all is right with the world. When a believer spends time abiding in the presence of His heavenly Father, all is right in his world even though he is in a world that is under the dominion of the evil one. Unfortunately, growing up is hard and where the natural child learns to be more independent of his parents, the believer must learn to be more and more dependent on God. This is a training process.
Because we are fallen creatures, what often happens when the trial is removed? We go back to ignoring God. I don’t know whether it is an American concept or what, but we have been raised to be independent. I guess that is how we chose to live at the Fall, so it part of our human sin nature. That is why the five-year old today is nothing like the five-year old 50 years ago. Sadly, the five-year old of our post-modern world has learned to be brave and is often thrown into the world long before he should be. As Christians, we must learn to be dependent upon our Father for everything since it goes against everything we know, everything that is ingrained in us. What should be natural for the child of God is to pray and stay close to Him.
Part of the problem is that we don’t have a clue how much we need God. Sitting right where you are reading this, you don’t even realize that you need Him for your next breath. We take things for granted, because we still have a lot of selfishness in us, and we are ungrateful. We must learn to be grateful for all the blessings that God has given us, including life, especially new life. Natural man wants to do everything apart from God – his own way. He wants to be able to say with Frank Sinatra, ‘I did it my way.’ Deep down, the fight we all must struggle against is this unbelief that we really need God for anything. Just the opposite, however, is true. We need God for absolutely EVERYTHING!
Regarding prayer, then, the measure of a person’s spirituality is not determined by how well he conforms to the DEMAND to pray but by the extent he is compelled to pray because of an internal passion for others in God’s kingdom.
Because our passions will come out in our prayers, we need to examine our prayers. If our prayers are focused upon our needs, problems, questions and struggles, then that is an indication of where our heart is. If we pray infrequently, briefly and in a shallow manner, our hearts are cold because prayer is just not that important to us. There is no inner desire. What would my relationships be like if all I talked about with my friends were those things that interested me, if every time my friend started to talk about something other than ME, I turned the conversation back to myself? Or, what if I never wanted to talk to my friend but only talked about the weather and things that really don’t matter a whole hill of beans? If we find that this is what our prayer life looks like, we need to be concerned that our hearts may be deceiving us into thinking things are okay between ourselves and God when, in reality, there is something desperately wrong.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Communications 101
Sometimes I think I’m the only one in the world who has the strange hang-ups that I do. One such quirk that always drives me crazy, but which can also get me into a lot of trouble, is my dreaded fear of a lull in the conversation with another person. I’ve learned to deal with it better than I used to, but every once in a while there is that nagging fear where it ought not to be. The tendency I once had, when the conversation drops off into dead silence, is to fill that air with babble. Every time this fear rears its ugly head, I find myself guarding my tongue. Filling air with worthless chatter has led me to gossip and all kinds of other sins of the tongue in the past. I have come to understand that silence can be a time when we are gathering our thoughts for the next round of conversation, and it’s a good thing.
When I get together with the girls on Friday, there seems to be a never-ending stream of good, usually edifying conversation. Even when I get together with someone alone, the fear is easily withstood as the conversation naturally flows from like-minded hearts who love the same God of the Bible.
This is how our time with God should be in prayer. When we love someone, our conversation with that person should flow freely and naturally. We don’t need to ‘make conversation’. Even when there is silence, we are resting in one another’s presence. Sometimes it’s just good when a friend is there saying nothing. That’s how it is in prayer. There are nights when I am distraught over this, that or the other thing and I am exhausted. As I cry out to the Father, I can’t speak for crying, but I tell Him that I just want to sit and cry in His presence knowing that He is there. It’s a sweet time of fellowship. I’ve had those times with friends in the past, and they are some of the sweetest memories of all.
Remember when I started this whole series of posts? My intention is to get back to how great a sin it is for the one who professes to be a believer to have a lack of prayer in his life. We will soon be getting back to that. In the meantime, I want to show this basic fellowship that every human being understands.
There are times when something happens in my life when I know immediately that I need to get away somewhere and pray. I know that He is the only one who can help me, and I need His help desperately right then and there. But always there should be this desire and delight to speak to Him, to share our hearts with Him. I hope to get into a whole in-depth study on prayer in the future; for now, I’m just skimming the surface.
Another thing that we naturally want to do with someone we love is to praise them. And there is no one more worthy than our praise than God, Himself. When we love a person, we can’t help but tell them so. We show him love by our actions; yes, but we also want to express our love in words.
This whole idea shows us that we don’t just come to God because we want something. What kind of relationship would that earthly one be in which I just went to a friend when I wanted something? They would soon come to call me ‘a user’. The dearest relationships we have on earth fill us with joy. They are a delight to our souls. We can’t wait for those times when we can share our love one for another.
Another thing about a good friend is this fact that you know they are always there for you. You can trust them to want your good and to be a very present help in time of need. Unfortunately, this cannot be said 100% of the time with our human relationships just because of that very fact – they ARE human. But, God is always there for us. Do you know that? Do you really know it experientially? If you don’t, there is no use to try and pray – you might as well be speaking to a wall because you don’t believe you are being heard by anyone who cares. It’s just like my babble – worthless chatter. For good communication to be accomplished, two hearts have to connect. To know that my heart connects with the Divine heart of God each time I pray is an overwhelming, yet glorious thought. But that is exactly what I know to be true. Knowing my Father is listening and always available to hear the burdens, desires, and praises of my heart gives me confidence in prayer.
One of the best tests we can apply to ourselves to see if we are truly in fellowship and communion with God is to examine our prayer life. First of all, does it exist? How often do I find myself in prayer? Is there freedom there to express what is in the depths of my heart? Is prayer a wearisome task or a great delight of my soul?
I get incredible joy from reading the Psalms. Invariably, I find myself with the psalmist crying out in unison with him only to find that they are the inspired words of God written down for me to pray back to Him. The psalmists bear their souls with so much passion that it becomes contagious at once and I find that I cannot contain myself. Before long, there will be tears of joy and I find my heart leaping up in praise to God.
Our conversations and communion with God our Father should be as easy and as natural as those with our most trusted friends, yet even more so because of who He is. What about those people who say that our conversations with friends are easier because there is a two-way conversation? After all, everyone knows that there are two sides in fellowship, right? We’ve already said that communion with God necessitates this realization of God’s presence. Every person who claims to have fellowship with God must be able to say that He has known God’s presence at that time. I understand that this teaching, in the past, has opened all kinds of doors to the false ideology of mysticism. Although He does not speak with an audible voice, He does speak. He always speaks in one way or another to our souls.
Sometimes we know His comfort as we read His words in Scripture. He also gives us wisdom, understanding and strength for every situation He allows in our lives. Sometimes He impresses upon us holy desires and longings. Only God gives us those desires and longings that line up with His will for us as recorded in Scripture. There are many ways that God speaks to us, but they will never contradict His Word which has once-for-all been recorded for us in the pages of Scripture. I have never heard an audible voice, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has spoken to me.
God also reveals His will to us in many ways, leading us and guiding us as we move alone in our walk with Him. You can’t recognize the sovereignty of God without knowing that He is the one causing all the good in your life and allowing everything else in your life to be worked out for your good and His glory if you are truly His. To know this fellowship is to know that you are in His hand and aware that He is daily working in your life to bring you to Christlikeness.
I love the illustration I heard a long time ago. Our lives may look like the underneath side of a tapestry to us, but when we get to heaven, those same tapestries will be turned right side up and we will see the beautiful picture He created out of our lives.
When I get together with the girls on Friday, there seems to be a never-ending stream of good, usually edifying conversation. Even when I get together with someone alone, the fear is easily withstood as the conversation naturally flows from like-minded hearts who love the same God of the Bible.
This is how our time with God should be in prayer. When we love someone, our conversation with that person should flow freely and naturally. We don’t need to ‘make conversation’. Even when there is silence, we are resting in one another’s presence. Sometimes it’s just good when a friend is there saying nothing. That’s how it is in prayer. There are nights when I am distraught over this, that or the other thing and I am exhausted. As I cry out to the Father, I can’t speak for crying, but I tell Him that I just want to sit and cry in His presence knowing that He is there. It’s a sweet time of fellowship. I’ve had those times with friends in the past, and they are some of the sweetest memories of all.
Remember when I started this whole series of posts? My intention is to get back to how great a sin it is for the one who professes to be a believer to have a lack of prayer in his life. We will soon be getting back to that. In the meantime, I want to show this basic fellowship that every human being understands.
There are times when something happens in my life when I know immediately that I need to get away somewhere and pray. I know that He is the only one who can help me, and I need His help desperately right then and there. But always there should be this desire and delight to speak to Him, to share our hearts with Him. I hope to get into a whole in-depth study on prayer in the future; for now, I’m just skimming the surface.
Another thing that we naturally want to do with someone we love is to praise them. And there is no one more worthy than our praise than God, Himself. When we love a person, we can’t help but tell them so. We show him love by our actions; yes, but we also want to express our love in words.
This whole idea shows us that we don’t just come to God because we want something. What kind of relationship would that earthly one be in which I just went to a friend when I wanted something? They would soon come to call me ‘a user’. The dearest relationships we have on earth fill us with joy. They are a delight to our souls. We can’t wait for those times when we can share our love one for another.
Another thing about a good friend is this fact that you know they are always there for you. You can trust them to want your good and to be a very present help in time of need. Unfortunately, this cannot be said 100% of the time with our human relationships just because of that very fact – they ARE human. But, God is always there for us. Do you know that? Do you really know it experientially? If you don’t, there is no use to try and pray – you might as well be speaking to a wall because you don’t believe you are being heard by anyone who cares. It’s just like my babble – worthless chatter. For good communication to be accomplished, two hearts have to connect. To know that my heart connects with the Divine heart of God each time I pray is an overwhelming, yet glorious thought. But that is exactly what I know to be true. Knowing my Father is listening and always available to hear the burdens, desires, and praises of my heart gives me confidence in prayer.
One of the best tests we can apply to ourselves to see if we are truly in fellowship and communion with God is to examine our prayer life. First of all, does it exist? How often do I find myself in prayer? Is there freedom there to express what is in the depths of my heart? Is prayer a wearisome task or a great delight of my soul?
I get incredible joy from reading the Psalms. Invariably, I find myself with the psalmist crying out in unison with him only to find that they are the inspired words of God written down for me to pray back to Him. The psalmists bear their souls with so much passion that it becomes contagious at once and I find that I cannot contain myself. Before long, there will be tears of joy and I find my heart leaping up in praise to God.
Our conversations and communion with God our Father should be as easy and as natural as those with our most trusted friends, yet even more so because of who He is. What about those people who say that our conversations with friends are easier because there is a two-way conversation? After all, everyone knows that there are two sides in fellowship, right? We’ve already said that communion with God necessitates this realization of God’s presence. Every person who claims to have fellowship with God must be able to say that He has known God’s presence at that time. I understand that this teaching, in the past, has opened all kinds of doors to the false ideology of mysticism. Although He does not speak with an audible voice, He does speak. He always speaks in one way or another to our souls.
Sometimes we know His comfort as we read His words in Scripture. He also gives us wisdom, understanding and strength for every situation He allows in our lives. Sometimes He impresses upon us holy desires and longings. Only God gives us those desires and longings that line up with His will for us as recorded in Scripture. There are many ways that God speaks to us, but they will never contradict His Word which has once-for-all been recorded for us in the pages of Scripture. I have never heard an audible voice, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has spoken to me.
God also reveals His will to us in many ways, leading us and guiding us as we move alone in our walk with Him. You can’t recognize the sovereignty of God without knowing that He is the one causing all the good in your life and allowing everything else in your life to be worked out for your good and His glory if you are truly His. To know this fellowship is to know that you are in His hand and aware that He is daily working in your life to bring you to Christlikeness.
I love the illustration I heard a long time ago. Our lives may look like the underneath side of a tapestry to us, but when we get to heaven, those same tapestries will be turned right side up and we will see the beautiful picture He created out of our lives.
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Remnant Versus the Crowd
Sit down in a room with someone you have absolutely nothing in common with, and after you have fully exhausted all conversation about the weather, it soon becomes a very uncomfortable situation. As someone who has struggled with making chit-chat all her life, I have faced many such challenging encounters. I have always had a problem with making conversation with those I don’t know well. Backward, shy, introverted – all are terms I would have labeled myself with in the past. However, because I understand what the Bible says about this, I have had to face the fact that the root of all these symptoms is the fear of man, the fear of rejection, which is a nice way of saying, “Pride!” How I hate the sin of pride! Especially when I see it in myself! And, yet it is one that we all struggle with day in and day out whether we admit it or not. THEN, if we want to go a step further, we will come to the realization that all sin resulting from pride is nothing but shear unbelief. Oh, how that light bulb-moment wounded me deeply! It hurt…you guessed it…MY PRIDE!
We’re talking about fellowship. What is meant by ‘fellowship’ in the biblical sense? First, we start with the premise we began with in the earlier blog posts, that light can have no fellowship with darkness. It’s a biblical principle that should be readily acknowledge if one accepts the truth of Scripture. There is nothing ambiguous about the concept.
The last time I talked about fellowship I said it was going to involve sharing or partaking of things. Biblically, those who are able to have biblical fellowship are those who share the life of God in Christ. Christianity is NOT about living a better life – basically being the same person you once were but just adding or subtracting certain things. Christians are those who have received the divine life.
The second thing that biblical fellowship involves is partnering with God – being intimately involved in the things that interest Him – in other words, those who have this new life in them will have a sense of being partners with God in His great plan of salvation. His purposes become the Christian’s greatest passions in life. We have the same attitudes as He does toward this world, sin, evil – EVERYTHING! We see things through different lenses. We come to know that “there are evil forces that are in the world which are manipulating the life of the world in their enmity against God and we are concerned about that.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Part of this partnership we have with God necessitates that we be a people who pray, meditate, read His Word, and do everything we are enabled to do to further His kingdom of light while in this dark world. “We are sharers in God’s thoughts and in God’s enterprise and in God’s whole interest in this life and world.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Someone very close to me once said, “When are you going to stop trying to save the whole world?” I said, “Silly. I know I can’t save anyone, but it’s my job to partner with Him in the work of salvation.” Needless to say, she didn’t get it. She thinks I’m hopelessly disillusioned about life. Come to think about it, we’ve never talked about much since that day.
When I sit in a room with a believer, I will always have something to talk about. That is a truly amazing aspect of our fellowship in Christ. I have been in conversations with Christians the first time we met in which I didn’t want the conversation to end. We, literally, could talk for a lifetime and not exhaust all that we have in common. I have gone to conferences where I have been with like-minded believers who I have felt I have known my whole lifetime. It’s an incredible thing to be part of God’s universal family. There is a oneness there that the world cannot know apart from knowing Christ.
Fellowship means communion. Conversation, sharing, intercourse – all things that represent fellowship whether it is the fellowship the world or the Christian knows. Everyone gets the idea of what fellowship looks like.
Back to our illustration. As hard as it is for me to engage in superficial chit-chat with unbelievers, what would make it somewhat easier? If I knew them, right? It will be much easier for me to hold a conversation for any length of time with an unbeliever I know than one I do not know. The key to fellowship in any sense of the word is relationship; it’s knowing the other person. The longer I know someone the more I find we have in common that we can talk about. This basis of knowledge for the believer with an unbeliever is a great foundation in which to start laying the bricks of the gospel.
That is looking at fellowship from man’s side. But what about this fellowship with God that John talks about in 1 John? How am I to have this fellowship with God? I must know Him. I don’t just know facts about Him. The Christian who can have fellowship with God has come to know Him as Father. It is a sweet, intimate communion between a child and his Father.
Most of us know what it is to have come from churches where there were long, formal ‘prayers’ to a ‘Higher Being’. The ‘priest’ ‘Reverend’ or pastor may even started by addressing God as “Thou, Holy Father” or something to that affect. But looking back we realize that there was no intimacy or familiarity – no sense of a family relationship. It was just a list of petitions given by rote. No heart – no passion. There was no sense of shame, guilt and remorse over sin as when a child who adores his father realizes that he has offended him or disobediently sinned against him. There was no delight and awe and holy reverence. There was a real difference! One could say it was the difference between light and dark, night and day, white and black.
To have communion with God means that I desire to speak with Him and I know that I CAN do that. I don’t need to go through a priest or a saint or anyone else. I go running straight into the open arms of a loving Father who is waiting eagerly for me to come. The door is always open. He is never too busy for this one He delights in…ME! Do you know that love of God? As His beloved children, He wants you to know it. What is stopping you?
Now, I’m not saying that prayer is easy. Prayer is one of the hardest aspects of living the Christian life. We all know the difficulties we have at times of connecting with God. But we must always know that it is on our part, never on His. We will camp on this subject at length later on. Understand for now that prayer is the conversation part of our fellowship with God. It is something that grows in its intensity over time as one gets to know God more intimately.
I have a Bible study in my home on Friday mornings. We’ve been meeting for about eight or nine years. From the 40-50 some women who have walked through my doors, there are only three or four left. Does the word ‘remnant’ ring a bell? Occasionally we have one or two continue to come and leave shortly thereafter. Let me tell you there are not too many people who want to sit and listen to hard teaching for an hour or an hour and a half each week. Any teaching that cuts us open and exposes us for what we are before a holy God is hard, in case you didn’t know!!!
Yet, these few continue to come. Why? Because we are all growing in our love for God. We are getting to know Him in a way that we didn’t know Him before. The more we seek to know Him, the more we come to know about each other. And, can I tell you about our fellowship? The fellowship we have is ‘other worldly.’ Our friendship is based on our same love for Christ. We talk about a lot of things when we go to lunch afterwards, but we always come back to what is most important in our lives, and that is Christ. And we never run out of things to talk about. I’m not saying that we’re all at the same place in our walk with Christ, but there’s that essence of family life. It’s family talk around the table – we are comfortable with each other, able to share the deepest longings of our heart, our weaknesses and the areas we seem to struggle with the most. And there is accountability there. We come alongside and support one another encouraging each other in godliness and holiness. I know we’re not perfect, and sometimes we may even agitate each other as we continue to sharpen each other, but I walk away every week with a small glimpse of heaven knowing that this is love, and the anticipation of spending eternity with my whole family causes me to yearn eagerly all the more to go home. I guess I already have some fellowship with the hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, who said, “Oh, what a foretaste of heaven divine!” I know what that means. I’m certain we have much in common.
That’s what the remnant is like. However, when we were a much larger group, we had people from all different mindsets, many different denominations who were curious, I guess. And even though there seemed to be a connection for a short while, it soon became evident that there were huge differences between us. One by one they each left, most often because my teaching was too hard. I’ve got accused of ‘bashing’ more times than I care to count. In all honesty, I can say that some left because of jobs or other commitments on Friday morning, but for the most part I can only say like John, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
Then, too, they probably wouldn’t recognize my teaching today because I’m growing, and the boldness that God has given me to proclaim the truth in teaching His Word has gotten stronger and stronger over time. What’s the difference? I have come to know Him better. A lot of the junk out there that is promoted as Christian teaching, which I had exposed myself to in the past, has been replaced with the truth. I guess you could say that even though my eyes may be getting worse (rapidly going downhill after 40), I can see much more clearly than ever before. The truth must stand alone, uncompromised and uncluttered. Clear water, not muddied. True fellowship rests on the Rock of solid truth.
Would I want to go back to so many people in the Bible study if it meant giving up what we now share? Absolutely no way! I know that numbers are not what count, but like-minded people sharing their hearts in true biblical fellowship!
We’re talking about fellowship. What is meant by ‘fellowship’ in the biblical sense? First, we start with the premise we began with in the earlier blog posts, that light can have no fellowship with darkness. It’s a biblical principle that should be readily acknowledge if one accepts the truth of Scripture. There is nothing ambiguous about the concept.
The last time I talked about fellowship I said it was going to involve sharing or partaking of things. Biblically, those who are able to have biblical fellowship are those who share the life of God in Christ. Christianity is NOT about living a better life – basically being the same person you once were but just adding or subtracting certain things. Christians are those who have received the divine life.
The second thing that biblical fellowship involves is partnering with God – being intimately involved in the things that interest Him – in other words, those who have this new life in them will have a sense of being partners with God in His great plan of salvation. His purposes become the Christian’s greatest passions in life. We have the same attitudes as He does toward this world, sin, evil – EVERYTHING! We see things through different lenses. We come to know that “there are evil forces that are in the world which are manipulating the life of the world in their enmity against God and we are concerned about that.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Part of this partnership we have with God necessitates that we be a people who pray, meditate, read His Word, and do everything we are enabled to do to further His kingdom of light while in this dark world. “We are sharers in God’s thoughts and in God’s enterprise and in God’s whole interest in this life and world.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Someone very close to me once said, “When are you going to stop trying to save the whole world?” I said, “Silly. I know I can’t save anyone, but it’s my job to partner with Him in the work of salvation.” Needless to say, she didn’t get it. She thinks I’m hopelessly disillusioned about life. Come to think about it, we’ve never talked about much since that day.
When I sit in a room with a believer, I will always have something to talk about. That is a truly amazing aspect of our fellowship in Christ. I have been in conversations with Christians the first time we met in which I didn’t want the conversation to end. We, literally, could talk for a lifetime and not exhaust all that we have in common. I have gone to conferences where I have been with like-minded believers who I have felt I have known my whole lifetime. It’s an incredible thing to be part of God’s universal family. There is a oneness there that the world cannot know apart from knowing Christ.
Fellowship means communion. Conversation, sharing, intercourse – all things that represent fellowship whether it is the fellowship the world or the Christian knows. Everyone gets the idea of what fellowship looks like.
Back to our illustration. As hard as it is for me to engage in superficial chit-chat with unbelievers, what would make it somewhat easier? If I knew them, right? It will be much easier for me to hold a conversation for any length of time with an unbeliever I know than one I do not know. The key to fellowship in any sense of the word is relationship; it’s knowing the other person. The longer I know someone the more I find we have in common that we can talk about. This basis of knowledge for the believer with an unbeliever is a great foundation in which to start laying the bricks of the gospel.
That is looking at fellowship from man’s side. But what about this fellowship with God that John talks about in 1 John? How am I to have this fellowship with God? I must know Him. I don’t just know facts about Him. The Christian who can have fellowship with God has come to know Him as Father. It is a sweet, intimate communion between a child and his Father.
Most of us know what it is to have come from churches where there were long, formal ‘prayers’ to a ‘Higher Being’. The ‘priest’ ‘Reverend’ or pastor may even started by addressing God as “Thou, Holy Father” or something to that affect. But looking back we realize that there was no intimacy or familiarity – no sense of a family relationship. It was just a list of petitions given by rote. No heart – no passion. There was no sense of shame, guilt and remorse over sin as when a child who adores his father realizes that he has offended him or disobediently sinned against him. There was no delight and awe and holy reverence. There was a real difference! One could say it was the difference between light and dark, night and day, white and black.
To have communion with God means that I desire to speak with Him and I know that I CAN do that. I don’t need to go through a priest or a saint or anyone else. I go running straight into the open arms of a loving Father who is waiting eagerly for me to come. The door is always open. He is never too busy for this one He delights in…ME! Do you know that love of God? As His beloved children, He wants you to know it. What is stopping you?
Now, I’m not saying that prayer is easy. Prayer is one of the hardest aspects of living the Christian life. We all know the difficulties we have at times of connecting with God. But we must always know that it is on our part, never on His. We will camp on this subject at length later on. Understand for now that prayer is the conversation part of our fellowship with God. It is something that grows in its intensity over time as one gets to know God more intimately.
I have a Bible study in my home on Friday mornings. We’ve been meeting for about eight or nine years. From the 40-50 some women who have walked through my doors, there are only three or four left. Does the word ‘remnant’ ring a bell? Occasionally we have one or two continue to come and leave shortly thereafter. Let me tell you there are not too many people who want to sit and listen to hard teaching for an hour or an hour and a half each week. Any teaching that cuts us open and exposes us for what we are before a holy God is hard, in case you didn’t know!!!
Yet, these few continue to come. Why? Because we are all growing in our love for God. We are getting to know Him in a way that we didn’t know Him before. The more we seek to know Him, the more we come to know about each other. And, can I tell you about our fellowship? The fellowship we have is ‘other worldly.’ Our friendship is based on our same love for Christ. We talk about a lot of things when we go to lunch afterwards, but we always come back to what is most important in our lives, and that is Christ. And we never run out of things to talk about. I’m not saying that we’re all at the same place in our walk with Christ, but there’s that essence of family life. It’s family talk around the table – we are comfortable with each other, able to share the deepest longings of our heart, our weaknesses and the areas we seem to struggle with the most. And there is accountability there. We come alongside and support one another encouraging each other in godliness and holiness. I know we’re not perfect, and sometimes we may even agitate each other as we continue to sharpen each other, but I walk away every week with a small glimpse of heaven knowing that this is love, and the anticipation of spending eternity with my whole family causes me to yearn eagerly all the more to go home. I guess I already have some fellowship with the hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, who said, “Oh, what a foretaste of heaven divine!” I know what that means. I’m certain we have much in common.
That’s what the remnant is like. However, when we were a much larger group, we had people from all different mindsets, many different denominations who were curious, I guess. And even though there seemed to be a connection for a short while, it soon became evident that there were huge differences between us. One by one they each left, most often because my teaching was too hard. I’ve got accused of ‘bashing’ more times than I care to count. In all honesty, I can say that some left because of jobs or other commitments on Friday morning, but for the most part I can only say like John, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
Then, too, they probably wouldn’t recognize my teaching today because I’m growing, and the boldness that God has given me to proclaim the truth in teaching His Word has gotten stronger and stronger over time. What’s the difference? I have come to know Him better. A lot of the junk out there that is promoted as Christian teaching, which I had exposed myself to in the past, has been replaced with the truth. I guess you could say that even though my eyes may be getting worse (rapidly going downhill after 40), I can see much more clearly than ever before. The truth must stand alone, uncompromised and uncluttered. Clear water, not muddied. True fellowship rests on the Rock of solid truth.
Would I want to go back to so many people in the Bible study if it meant giving up what we now share? Absolutely no way! I know that numbers are not what count, but like-minded people sharing their hearts in true biblical fellowship!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The Crux of Christianity
Fellowship with God. The concept alone is enough to blow our minds if we have the right view of God and the right view of ourselves. Yet this is what the Apostle John wants his children in the faith to understand and know. In fact, it is the theme of his epistle in 1 John. He says, “You can have this fellowship. You can know that you have this fellowship. And there are things that must be in order if you are to realize this fellowship.” Yesterday we saw that sin is one obstacle to our fellowship with God.
I alluded to the next thing in one of the first blogs when I was talking about having true fellowship in the Church. Before you can have true fellowship with God, true communion, there must be likeness. There must be a sameness. What do I mean by that?
We all have acquaintenances in our lives, people who we like well enough, but we just don’t seem to have that much in common with them. We don’t have the same interests . We don’t have any depth of communion with them – there is a kind of superficial relationship with them. For the Christian living in this world, he finds that he has a multitude of acquaintenances as compared with those he has true fellowship with. Why? Because true fellowship demands like natures.
Paul is very clear about this when he says in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that there can be no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness, no communion between light and darkness. These things, logically, cannot mix or be blended. Light is no longer light when there is darkness. Darkness no longer is darkness when the light is turned on. Literally, these are issues that are black and white. There are two realms – light and darkness – in this world. People are in either one of those categories, but can never be in both.
This same principle applies to people in their relationship with God. Before a person can really know God, to have fellowship and communion with Him, he must be made like Him. All throughout Scripture we see that as Christians we have become partakers of the divine nature. This is what makes us children of God. To have the nature of God is to share His life. Christ made this possible for us. A believer is one who has the very life of Christ living inside him.
Another characteristic of fellowship or communion is that the two parties love the same things. We must love one another as John repeats over and over in all his letters and his gospel. When two people truly love each other there can’t be any suspicion or doubt. There must be complete understanding and complete confidence and no lack of trust. There is no fellowship apart from true love.
This is why people who ‘say’ they love God yet do not know who He is as seen in the Lord Jesus Christ, are liars. They believe they love God but their god is not the God of the Bible.
Why is this world in the state that it is in? Because the world is not in fellowship with God. The world is at enmity with God and hates the things of God. There is no likeness or sameness. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness under the power of the prince of darkness is light and dark, black and white in contrast.
The Christian, on the other hand, lives in the same world, the same environment with the same chaos and conflict going on all around him, yet he has peace because he has fellowship with God. His joy is not found in circumstances or his surroundings, but in Christ alone. He knows that this world is passing away and all its lusts. But he also knows that what will last cannot be taken away from him.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones says this: “‘Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.’ Here, let me repeat, is the very acme of Christian experience and at the same time it is a goal; it is the whole object of Christian experience and of Christian faith and teaching.”
What is your overall concept of the Christian life as you examine yourself? Do you see Christianity as more or less primarily concerned about the application of certain laws and principles and Christian teaching of doctrine? There definitely is a need for Christian teaching of doctrine, and I don’t want to discount that in any way, but it is not the crux and heart of Christianity. The heart of Christianity, of the Christian life is fellowship or communion with God Himself. That is to be the focus of our life. To know Him. While it is important, even crucial, to hold to orthodox teaching…there are, without hesitation, certain things that every Christian must believe, even to be defenders of these right doctrine… this does not necessarily equate with Christianity. In other words, I may hold to all the right doctrine and not be saved. Why? Because right doctrine is not the essence of Christian life. It is fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
I will swing to the other side and adamantly stress that apart from right doctrine, one cannot be saved, either. Further, right doctrine should lead us to this fellowship with God based on our knowledge of Him which produces love for Him. Christianity is not only intellectual but it also involves the will, the desires and the emotions.
Again quoting Lloyd-Jones: “There have been people in the Church, alas, many times in the past, who have fought for orthodoxy and who have been defenders of the faith and yet they have sometimes found themselves on their deathbeds coming to the realization that they have never known God. They have only held opinions; they have only fought for certain articles of creed or faith. The things they fought for were right, but, alas, it is possible to stop at the negative position and to fail to realize that the whole object of all the things they claim to believe is to bring them to this central position. This, let me emphasise again, is the essence, the summum bonum, of the Christian life; it is the theme, the objective of everything that has been done by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have been confronted many times by people who I think I am out of balance on this whole issue. They see me fighting for certain doctrine or truth and believe that my Christianity is nothing more than intellectual, but they do not see the other side of my heart which is every day crying out to Him to help me know Him more. My heart’s passion is to know Him. He is the beginning and the end. He’s everything! In this world, however, there is so much profession by people not holding to sound doctrine who claim to love God that there is great need to fight for truth. People are perishing for lack of knowledge. They are deluded, deceived, blind and walking in darkness. We must give them the truth about our God and pray that He removes the veil from their eyes enabling them to see with the eyes of faith.
Christ came to bring us into fellowship with the Father and with Himself. So what exactly does fellowship look like? We’ll see next time.
I alluded to the next thing in one of the first blogs when I was talking about having true fellowship in the Church. Before you can have true fellowship with God, true communion, there must be likeness. There must be a sameness. What do I mean by that?
We all have acquaintenances in our lives, people who we like well enough, but we just don’t seem to have that much in common with them. We don’t have the same interests . We don’t have any depth of communion with them – there is a kind of superficial relationship with them. For the Christian living in this world, he finds that he has a multitude of acquaintenances as compared with those he has true fellowship with. Why? Because true fellowship demands like natures.
Paul is very clear about this when he says in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that there can be no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness, no communion between light and darkness. These things, logically, cannot mix or be blended. Light is no longer light when there is darkness. Darkness no longer is darkness when the light is turned on. Literally, these are issues that are black and white. There are two realms – light and darkness – in this world. People are in either one of those categories, but can never be in both.
This same principle applies to people in their relationship with God. Before a person can really know God, to have fellowship and communion with Him, he must be made like Him. All throughout Scripture we see that as Christians we have become partakers of the divine nature. This is what makes us children of God. To have the nature of God is to share His life. Christ made this possible for us. A believer is one who has the very life of Christ living inside him.
Another characteristic of fellowship or communion is that the two parties love the same things. We must love one another as John repeats over and over in all his letters and his gospel. When two people truly love each other there can’t be any suspicion or doubt. There must be complete understanding and complete confidence and no lack of trust. There is no fellowship apart from true love.
This is why people who ‘say’ they love God yet do not know who He is as seen in the Lord Jesus Christ, are liars. They believe they love God but their god is not the God of the Bible.
Why is this world in the state that it is in? Because the world is not in fellowship with God. The world is at enmity with God and hates the things of God. There is no likeness or sameness. The kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness under the power of the prince of darkness is light and dark, black and white in contrast.
The Christian, on the other hand, lives in the same world, the same environment with the same chaos and conflict going on all around him, yet he has peace because he has fellowship with God. His joy is not found in circumstances or his surroundings, but in Christ alone. He knows that this world is passing away and all its lusts. But he also knows that what will last cannot be taken away from him.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones says this: “‘Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.’ Here, let me repeat, is the very acme of Christian experience and at the same time it is a goal; it is the whole object of Christian experience and of Christian faith and teaching.”
What is your overall concept of the Christian life as you examine yourself? Do you see Christianity as more or less primarily concerned about the application of certain laws and principles and Christian teaching of doctrine? There definitely is a need for Christian teaching of doctrine, and I don’t want to discount that in any way, but it is not the crux and heart of Christianity. The heart of Christianity, of the Christian life is fellowship or communion with God Himself. That is to be the focus of our life. To know Him. While it is important, even crucial, to hold to orthodox teaching…there are, without hesitation, certain things that every Christian must believe, even to be defenders of these right doctrine… this does not necessarily equate with Christianity. In other words, I may hold to all the right doctrine and not be saved. Why? Because right doctrine is not the essence of Christian life. It is fellowship with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
I will swing to the other side and adamantly stress that apart from right doctrine, one cannot be saved, either. Further, right doctrine should lead us to this fellowship with God based on our knowledge of Him which produces love for Him. Christianity is not only intellectual but it also involves the will, the desires and the emotions.
Again quoting Lloyd-Jones: “There have been people in the Church, alas, many times in the past, who have fought for orthodoxy and who have been defenders of the faith and yet they have sometimes found themselves on their deathbeds coming to the realization that they have never known God. They have only held opinions; they have only fought for certain articles of creed or faith. The things they fought for were right, but, alas, it is possible to stop at the negative position and to fail to realize that the whole object of all the things they claim to believe is to bring them to this central position. This, let me emphasise again, is the essence, the summum bonum, of the Christian life; it is the theme, the objective of everything that has been done by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have been confronted many times by people who I think I am out of balance on this whole issue. They see me fighting for certain doctrine or truth and believe that my Christianity is nothing more than intellectual, but they do not see the other side of my heart which is every day crying out to Him to help me know Him more. My heart’s passion is to know Him. He is the beginning and the end. He’s everything! In this world, however, there is so much profession by people not holding to sound doctrine who claim to love God that there is great need to fight for truth. People are perishing for lack of knowledge. They are deluded, deceived, blind and walking in darkness. We must give them the truth about our God and pray that He removes the veil from their eyes enabling them to see with the eyes of faith.
Christ came to bring us into fellowship with the Father and with Himself. So what exactly does fellowship look like? We’ll see next time.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Relationship of a Father with His Children
In keeping with our theme, the Christian and the sin of prayerlessness, I thought it might be helpful to go back and tie into the idea of fellowship with God which I touched on in the first few blog posts. Reading the book of 1 John every day this month has impressed upon my mind this topic of biblical fellowship as spoken of by the Apostle John. I’ve been swimming down deep into the implications of this fellowship with God and all that it means. How beautifully it ties in with understanding our prayer life.
(I’ve been doing puzzles lately. I thought about how we always want to believe there is a piece missing when we can’t find that one piece for the longest time. Then, all of a sudden, “Eureka!” It was there all along. You know, God never gives us a puzzle to work on with a piece missing, either. He always puts all the pieces in front of you so that you can get a great picture when you are finished. I don’t know if you get that, but it was good for me!! Smile!)
Having been placed by God in the Garden of Eden in a state of paradise and perfection, Adam and Eve walked with God. I know people who use the phrase, “In a perfect world such and such…” It’s never true because Adam and Eve “in a perfect world” crashed and burned, so to speak. The bottom line is that even a perfect world was an insult to them if they had to be in subjection to God. Some things never change. We know that this first act of rebellion caused them to fear God and to start to look at each other in a different way than before. The eyes that once looked at each other with pure love now were jealous and full of envy towards one another. Once children came into the picture, sibling rivalry added to the turmoil in the family.
What went so terribly wrong? Men and women were meant to live in communion with God. The joy of that communion would only spring up in the hearts of those who would obey God out of love for Him. Six to seven thousand years later, one need not look too far to see that man is still rebelling against his Creator, and he is still experiencing the devastating effects of that rebellion, nothing but turmoil, unhappiness and wretchedness. In fact, the Bible is very clear that this is the state of the whole world away from God.
Is there hope for us? What is the message of the Christian Church to a world like ours? This is what 1 John is all about. The problem is that the Church for many years has turned from the only Gospel that offers man real hope to a ‘social gospel’. Somewhere along the line the Church decided she could water down the true Gospel and give the world ‘another gospel’ (Galatians 1) that would make the world a better place to live. The concept – a better world would result in better people.
But does the Bible give us any reason to believe that the Church can expect Christian behavior from a world that is socially correct but not Christian? The whole message of the Gospel is that man is not capable of living the way God requires him to live. Living a Christian life demands a new birth. There must be a new creation of the man who is in rebellion against God. And, all men come into the world in that state! Trying to put a law on man that he cannot keep is not ever going to be the answer. Many can’t keep the law of God because he doesn’t want to. Ultimately, he lives according to his desires. Man needs a heart with new desires, desires that are according to God’s will.
Many people who preach this ‘social gospel’ of meeting felt needs believe that by their message the world will continue to get better and better until Christ comes back to a world that is paradise restored. No. Christ will come back, but He alone can restore this world to the state of utopia that men have been searching for since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. John is very clear to point out several times that this world lies in the power of the evil one. As such, we can expect nothing but evil and wars.
The cause of all our woes is this rebellion against a holy God. The world walks around in darkness believing that surely there is something he can do to make things right never recognizing the fact that all his trouble stems from this rebellion and a wrong relationship to the God who made him. Adam and Eve knew God. All those born to them after the Fall would not know Him unless He revealed Himself to them. His existence would be known through the creation around them and from the conscience He gave them, but unless He opened their eyes to see the truth, they would walk around in the darkness forever, hopelessly lost never seeking God. There is a restlessness in every man whose state is one of rebellion against God until he gets back to what he was created for – communion or fellowship with God. There is always something lacking until we know God.
I get what is known as ‘restless legs’ every so often. It’s an awful, indescribable feeling. This is the same state unsaved man walks around in his whole life unless he finds what he is looking for. The problem is this: unless God reveals it to him, he does not know what that thing is that will satisfy his deepest need. He doesn’t know what he is looking for but hopes he will know once he finds it. He thinks somehow that money, power, fame, drugs, alcohol, relationships and umpteen other ‘things’ will soothe the savage beast within him but to no avail. “If I can only accomplish this or get that, I’ll be happy,” he thinks. At times he feels helpless, dead and lost, and such he is. But then he ‘picks himself up again’ and goes out in search of more ‘things’ to try to satisfy him and fill this vacuum within him.
So this is the universal need – not that people would have their felt needs met, but that they would come to know that their supreme need is knowledge of God, fellowship and communion with Him. In fact, the only way man will ever be reconciled with man is when he is reconciled with his God. Man has a built-in need to know that he is right with his Creator. Strive as he may, the only way this fellowship is made possible is by being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
The whole message and witness of the Church is to tell people about Christ – to tell them that they need to be made right with God. We are to tell them what He has done – completely – the job that was finished there -- on the cross at Calvary. They must be told what happened in history when God came down from His eternal home and humbling Himself, was born a man and dwelt among men -- fully God and fully man. This basic understanding and embracing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our relationship with Him. John starts out without any introduction in 1 John but just explodes onto the page of Scripture with this witness and testimony of Jesus Christ. He says, “I know Him, and I want you to know Him, too. And, I want you to know that you know Him. I want our joy to be full because we both know Him and have fellowship with Him, the Father and each other.”
Right away this Apostle of love says something the social-gospel –preaching church today would not recognize. We would expect him to say something about ‘love.’ We would expect John, who always talks about love, would say something like, “I want you to have this fellowship, so you must have love,” or “I want you to have this fellowship, so you must understand that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Is that what he says, though? No! He starts out where one must ALWAYS start out when proclaiming the Gospel. He says, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” In other words, God is holy. “If you want to have this fellowship with God, the first thing you must recognize is that God is holy.” What flows out of that is very understandable, then, and fits perfectly with the rest of Scripture. Since God is holy, you must be holy if you are to have fellowship with Him. He then talks about all the things that become obstacles or barriers to this fellowship or communion with God. We must not live in sin. We will sin, at times, but we must not live in the darkness but the light.
The darkness, here, is the realm of the world. There are only two realms – the realm of the darkness (the world, sin and all that is controlled by Satan) and the realm of the light. There is the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. Every Christian always lives in the realm of the light. You don’t walk in the darkness when you sin and then you are back in the light when you are living a righteous life before God. In order to know fellowship with God, you must live in the righteousness which is found in Christ, who is the Light.
So every human being born in rebellion against his Creator finds this barrier that precludes him from knowing God, from having fellowship with Him. This barrier must be dealt with before a relationship with God is possible. Sin separates man from God. Because God is holy, He cannot look upon sin lightly; He must deal with it. Sin must be judged and punished. The wages of sin is death, the Bible says. Spiritual death results in eternal separation from God or loss of communion with Him forever.
Unless God intervenes, how does the unsaved man react against this news? Like a spoiled child, he accuses God of being unfair. Every disobedient child begins to dislike his parents when the threat of punishment hangs over him. Guilt causes him to start finding excuses and ways to put the blame on others for his rebellion and disobedience. In this state a wall goes up between man and God, and he cannot see Him. Because of sin, there is no friendship and no trust.
John comes along and says, “I want to tell you that as a result of what Jesus Christ has done, what was lost can be restored.” How? Because Jesus dealt with the sin issue at the Cross. The world says, “No, thank you. I’d rather try my hand at doing good works and striving to follow through with the good resolutions I’ve made, and see where it gets me.” But some, under the weight of the heavy burden they bear of guilt and sin, will embrace the message of the Gospel, the Christ of the Gospel, and the abundant life He offers whatever it costs them and will have this barrier smashed to pieces allowing them to finally enter boldly into this newfound relationship with the God who created them for that very purpose.
For this sinner who believes in Christ and what He did at the cross and repents of his sin, the justice and righteousness of holy God was satisfied because God’s full wrath was poured out on His holy, guiltless and innocent Son, who would bear the weight of every sin committed by every man who would believe in Him for the joy of fellowship that would be established between God and man for all eternity.
God is holy. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. And because of His holiness, we can truly see the depth of His love for us. His love is amazing and divine. Jesus said, “It is finished!” The dividing wall, having been tore down, as seen in the curtain in the Temple being ripped in two from top to bottom (the evidence that only God could have ripped it), at long last allowed man to enter boldly into the Throne Room of Grace where he could commune fully with his Father. No more sacrifices are ever needed. The once-for-all sacrifice for sin was nailed to a Cross at Calvary, never to be repeated. The job He came to do, making it possible for man to be reconciled to his Creator God, was fully completed at the Cross. Jesus is not on the Cross today and shouldn’t be seen that way. He’s not on any altar today in any form. He’s not a victim. He willingly laid down His life for those He loved because He loved His Father and those the Father had given Him as a love gift before the foundation of the world.
The one who embraces the Cross, and everything that it means, becomes a true child of God. The Fatherhood of God is the key to understanding our prayer life, this communion with God. It is something no one knew fully before Christ came into the world. The Old Testament writers never called God, ‘Father’. But we can run to our beloved Father and cry out, “Abba, Father!” What a privilege, what an honor, what a blessing! Doesn’t that thrill your heart?
1 John 3:1 -- See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.
(I’ve been doing puzzles lately. I thought about how we always want to believe there is a piece missing when we can’t find that one piece for the longest time. Then, all of a sudden, “Eureka!” It was there all along. You know, God never gives us a puzzle to work on with a piece missing, either. He always puts all the pieces in front of you so that you can get a great picture when you are finished. I don’t know if you get that, but it was good for me!! Smile!)
Having been placed by God in the Garden of Eden in a state of paradise and perfection, Adam and Eve walked with God. I know people who use the phrase, “In a perfect world such and such…” It’s never true because Adam and Eve “in a perfect world” crashed and burned, so to speak. The bottom line is that even a perfect world was an insult to them if they had to be in subjection to God. Some things never change. We know that this first act of rebellion caused them to fear God and to start to look at each other in a different way than before. The eyes that once looked at each other with pure love now were jealous and full of envy towards one another. Once children came into the picture, sibling rivalry added to the turmoil in the family.
What went so terribly wrong? Men and women were meant to live in communion with God. The joy of that communion would only spring up in the hearts of those who would obey God out of love for Him. Six to seven thousand years later, one need not look too far to see that man is still rebelling against his Creator, and he is still experiencing the devastating effects of that rebellion, nothing but turmoil, unhappiness and wretchedness. In fact, the Bible is very clear that this is the state of the whole world away from God.
Is there hope for us? What is the message of the Christian Church to a world like ours? This is what 1 John is all about. The problem is that the Church for many years has turned from the only Gospel that offers man real hope to a ‘social gospel’. Somewhere along the line the Church decided she could water down the true Gospel and give the world ‘another gospel’ (Galatians 1) that would make the world a better place to live. The concept – a better world would result in better people.
But does the Bible give us any reason to believe that the Church can expect Christian behavior from a world that is socially correct but not Christian? The whole message of the Gospel is that man is not capable of living the way God requires him to live. Living a Christian life demands a new birth. There must be a new creation of the man who is in rebellion against God. And, all men come into the world in that state! Trying to put a law on man that he cannot keep is not ever going to be the answer. Many can’t keep the law of God because he doesn’t want to. Ultimately, he lives according to his desires. Man needs a heart with new desires, desires that are according to God’s will.
Many people who preach this ‘social gospel’ of meeting felt needs believe that by their message the world will continue to get better and better until Christ comes back to a world that is paradise restored. No. Christ will come back, but He alone can restore this world to the state of utopia that men have been searching for since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. John is very clear to point out several times that this world lies in the power of the evil one. As such, we can expect nothing but evil and wars.
The cause of all our woes is this rebellion against a holy God. The world walks around in darkness believing that surely there is something he can do to make things right never recognizing the fact that all his trouble stems from this rebellion and a wrong relationship to the God who made him. Adam and Eve knew God. All those born to them after the Fall would not know Him unless He revealed Himself to them. His existence would be known through the creation around them and from the conscience He gave them, but unless He opened their eyes to see the truth, they would walk around in the darkness forever, hopelessly lost never seeking God. There is a restlessness in every man whose state is one of rebellion against God until he gets back to what he was created for – communion or fellowship with God. There is always something lacking until we know God.
I get what is known as ‘restless legs’ every so often. It’s an awful, indescribable feeling. This is the same state unsaved man walks around in his whole life unless he finds what he is looking for. The problem is this: unless God reveals it to him, he does not know what that thing is that will satisfy his deepest need. He doesn’t know what he is looking for but hopes he will know once he finds it. He thinks somehow that money, power, fame, drugs, alcohol, relationships and umpteen other ‘things’ will soothe the savage beast within him but to no avail. “If I can only accomplish this or get that, I’ll be happy,” he thinks. At times he feels helpless, dead and lost, and such he is. But then he ‘picks himself up again’ and goes out in search of more ‘things’ to try to satisfy him and fill this vacuum within him.
So this is the universal need – not that people would have their felt needs met, but that they would come to know that their supreme need is knowledge of God, fellowship and communion with Him. In fact, the only way man will ever be reconciled with man is when he is reconciled with his God. Man has a built-in need to know that he is right with his Creator. Strive as he may, the only way this fellowship is made possible is by being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
The whole message and witness of the Church is to tell people about Christ – to tell them that they need to be made right with God. We are to tell them what He has done – completely – the job that was finished there -- on the cross at Calvary. They must be told what happened in history when God came down from His eternal home and humbling Himself, was born a man and dwelt among men -- fully God and fully man. This basic understanding and embracing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our relationship with Him. John starts out without any introduction in 1 John but just explodes onto the page of Scripture with this witness and testimony of Jesus Christ. He says, “I know Him, and I want you to know Him, too. And, I want you to know that you know Him. I want our joy to be full because we both know Him and have fellowship with Him, the Father and each other.”
Right away this Apostle of love says something the social-gospel –preaching church today would not recognize. We would expect him to say something about ‘love.’ We would expect John, who always talks about love, would say something like, “I want you to have this fellowship, so you must have love,” or “I want you to have this fellowship, so you must understand that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Is that what he says, though? No! He starts out where one must ALWAYS start out when proclaiming the Gospel. He says, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” In other words, God is holy. “If you want to have this fellowship with God, the first thing you must recognize is that God is holy.” What flows out of that is very understandable, then, and fits perfectly with the rest of Scripture. Since God is holy, you must be holy if you are to have fellowship with Him. He then talks about all the things that become obstacles or barriers to this fellowship or communion with God. We must not live in sin. We will sin, at times, but we must not live in the darkness but the light.
The darkness, here, is the realm of the world. There are only two realms – the realm of the darkness (the world, sin and all that is controlled by Satan) and the realm of the light. There is the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. Every Christian always lives in the realm of the light. You don’t walk in the darkness when you sin and then you are back in the light when you are living a righteous life before God. In order to know fellowship with God, you must live in the righteousness which is found in Christ, who is the Light.
So every human being born in rebellion against his Creator finds this barrier that precludes him from knowing God, from having fellowship with Him. This barrier must be dealt with before a relationship with God is possible. Sin separates man from God. Because God is holy, He cannot look upon sin lightly; He must deal with it. Sin must be judged and punished. The wages of sin is death, the Bible says. Spiritual death results in eternal separation from God or loss of communion with Him forever.
Unless God intervenes, how does the unsaved man react against this news? Like a spoiled child, he accuses God of being unfair. Every disobedient child begins to dislike his parents when the threat of punishment hangs over him. Guilt causes him to start finding excuses and ways to put the blame on others for his rebellion and disobedience. In this state a wall goes up between man and God, and he cannot see Him. Because of sin, there is no friendship and no trust.
John comes along and says, “I want to tell you that as a result of what Jesus Christ has done, what was lost can be restored.” How? Because Jesus dealt with the sin issue at the Cross. The world says, “No, thank you. I’d rather try my hand at doing good works and striving to follow through with the good resolutions I’ve made, and see where it gets me.” But some, under the weight of the heavy burden they bear of guilt and sin, will embrace the message of the Gospel, the Christ of the Gospel, and the abundant life He offers whatever it costs them and will have this barrier smashed to pieces allowing them to finally enter boldly into this newfound relationship with the God who created them for that very purpose.
For this sinner who believes in Christ and what He did at the cross and repents of his sin, the justice and righteousness of holy God was satisfied because God’s full wrath was poured out on His holy, guiltless and innocent Son, who would bear the weight of every sin committed by every man who would believe in Him for the joy of fellowship that would be established between God and man for all eternity.
God is holy. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. And because of His holiness, we can truly see the depth of His love for us. His love is amazing and divine. Jesus said, “It is finished!” The dividing wall, having been tore down, as seen in the curtain in the Temple being ripped in two from top to bottom (the evidence that only God could have ripped it), at long last allowed man to enter boldly into the Throne Room of Grace where he could commune fully with his Father. No more sacrifices are ever needed. The once-for-all sacrifice for sin was nailed to a Cross at Calvary, never to be repeated. The job He came to do, making it possible for man to be reconciled to his Creator God, was fully completed at the Cross. Jesus is not on the Cross today and shouldn’t be seen that way. He’s not on any altar today in any form. He’s not a victim. He willingly laid down His life for those He loved because He loved His Father and those the Father had given Him as a love gift before the foundation of the world.
The one who embraces the Cross, and everything that it means, becomes a true child of God. The Fatherhood of God is the key to understanding our prayer life, this communion with God. It is something no one knew fully before Christ came into the world. The Old Testament writers never called God, ‘Father’. But we can run to our beloved Father and cry out, “Abba, Father!” What a privilege, what an honor, what a blessing! Doesn’t that thrill your heart?
1 John 3:1 -- See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
What's Wrong?
Excuses shouldn’t be in the believer’s vocabulary because God’s own children have been given everything they need pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence according to 2 Peter 1:3. It is the power of Christ that is the source of our sufficiency. A true believer will grow because of the life of Christ in him. John MacArthur says that to live godly is to live reverently , loyally, and obediently toward God. As sons and daughters of God the Father, we have privileges and riches in Christ that the world knows nothing about.
So, does it make sense for us to focus on the condemnation of those who do not have all that we have been blessed with? Apart from the ministry of evangelization, there should be nothing that concerns us regarding the lost. What should concern us is the glory of God. We need to be concentrating on the areas in our lives where we fall short of the glory of God as His dear children. One such area where we all fall short is in our prayer lives.
We know from Jeremiah 17:9 that our hearts are desperately wicked above ALL ELSE. “The heart is more deceitful than all else and desperately sick, who can understand it?” Our hearts are deceitful. Our hearts try to rationalize away our sin enabling us to convince ourselves that we are all right. But we’re not. Unless we bring our lives up against the Word of God, our only source of truth, we will continued to be deceived believing we are basically good people apart from the righteousness of God.
But God knows our hearts; nothing can be hidden from His view. We can make all the excuses in the world and He knows the truth. Part of being a Christian is recognizing our sin for what it is and confessing it to the God who knows it already. We must be humble and vulnerable before Him if we are to give Him glory in any way.
One thing I want to stress in the next few blog posts is the vital understanding that
prayerlessness is a great sin. And we must confess it as such to our great God. To recognize our sin for what it is and to say the same thing about it that God says. Only then, can we repent of it and deal with it in God’s way. Prayerlessness is a great sin. But also know this: Nothing better defines the spiritual conditions of a person than that person’s prayer life.
While it is the duty of every Christian, it is also a compulsion of the true believer to pray. Prayer is a duty in that God impresses on us continually in His Word that we are to be a praying people. They are subtle commands throughout Scripture, but commands, nonetheless.
Growing up our earthly fathers gave us commands. Even when given in a loving manner, we knew they weren’t suggestions but commands. They were commands, but it was not just 'law' to us. We also knew that they came from a father who loved us and wanted only the best for us and whose job it was to protect us from harm. If we were obedient children, we gladly did what our fathers told us to do and we honored him by such obedience.
Something we must understand is this: When God redeems a person, He changes a person's desires. We still live in a body of unredeemed flesh with its own desires (hopefully being overcome daily as we battle the flesh), but we also have these new desires that God has given us to do what we could not do in our own flesh. For the Christian, prayer is one of those new desires after God's own heart. Every believer should have the desire to pray.
Philippians 4:6 -- In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Romans 12:12 -- Christians are to be “devoted to prayer.”
Luke 18:1 -- Jesus taught His disciples that “at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.”
1 Peter 4:7 -- Believers are to be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
Many passages tell us HOW to pray, based on the assumption that prayer would necessarily and naturally occur.
Matthew 6:9 -- Pray, then, in this way.
Jesus knew that His hearers understood they were to pray and would want to know how.
Colossians 4:2 -- Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 -- Pray without ceasing.
Prayer is the outworking not only of an external requirement but also of an internal passion. The deepest longings of a Spirit-filled heart flow out in prayer.
Psalm 55:1 -- Give ear to my prayer, O God; and do not hide Thyself from my supplication. Give heed to me, and answer me.”
No one commanded the psalmist to pray. He was compelled to pray from the condition of his heart.
Psalm 61:1 -- Hear my cry, O God; give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to Thee, when my heart is faint.
Psalm 119:58 -- I entreated Thy favor with all my heart.
Psalm 119:145 -- I cried with all my heart; answer me, O Lord!
Prayer is like breathing – you don’t have to be commanded to breathe. Air pressure exerted on your lungs forces you to breathe. Believers exist in sort of a prayer pressure in which praying is a natural response to their environment.
Acts 9:11 -- The Lord spoke to Ananias and said, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying.”
There is no record that Paul was commanded to pray immediately following his conversion. He prayed because his heart was compelled to do so.
Romans 8:15 -- As believers we “have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!”
1 Thessalonians 3:10 -- Night and day we keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face.
A person can pray earnestly night and day only when it is an internal compulsion. These are things you are not going to have to be reminded to pray about.
1 Timothy 5:5 -- She who is a widow indeed…continues in entreaties and prayers night and day.
WHY WOULD A WIDOW PRAY NIGHT AND DAY? When I first asked this question in our ladies’ Bible study one woman blurted out, “Because she can!” To busy women focused on meeting the needs of our husbands and children, that was funny, perhaps, but in all seriousness, this widow prayed day and night because she had a great need of God. Those who need God most will be found praying most.
WHERE DOES THIS COMPULSION COME FROM? It is generated by the Spirit of God within us.
The measure of a person’s spirituality is not determined by how well he conforms to the demand to pray but by the extent he is compelled to pray because of an internal passion for others in God’s kingdom.
Our first response to hearing the news of someone falling into sin should be to pray for that person whether it is a beliver or an unbeliever. Because God is sovereign he has allowed that person to fall into sin for whatever reasons He may have. But be sure of this: He has His reasons and His purposes will not be thwarted. Because we are fallen, we will fall more often that we would like. Hopefully, when we do, there will be many, many Christians surrounding us in prayer. Even though it does not appear to me to be so, I pray that I am wrong. I also pray that God would awaken in His children the awareness of their own sinfulness in not praying as they should.
We know that our hearts are desperately wicked. We also know that God is at work in the true believer sanctifying him daily as he yields to the Holy Spirit as He cuts, shapes and molds him into the image of Christ. For some of us, that cutting and shaping is more painful than for others. We also know that the unbeliever’s heart is desperately wicked, and nobody is working to make him more holy as he goes about his life in this world. Yet we tend to look at him and judge him or in some ways compare our lives to his in order that we may feel better about ourselves because WE NOW KNOW WE FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. Where are YOU spiritually? Be honest with your Lord and let Him show you how He sees your heart right now.
WHAT IS A GOOD INDICATOR THAT YOUR HEART IS RIGHT? The passions of a person’s heart will come out in his prayers. If you examine what you pray for and find you are praying only for your needs, problems, questions and struggles, that is an indication of where your heart is.
If you pray infrequently, briefly, and in a shallow manner, you have a cold heart because prayer is not an inner desire. Don’t let your heart deceive you into thinking things are okay between you and God! The call to the duty of prayer will not overcome a cold heart because prayer is an internal compulsion not fulfilled by conformity to an external standard. Lack of prayer doesn’t mean that a person is MERELY DISOBEDIENT; it indicates selfishness because of a cold heart.
Something is wrong!
More to come.
So, does it make sense for us to focus on the condemnation of those who do not have all that we have been blessed with? Apart from the ministry of evangelization, there should be nothing that concerns us regarding the lost. What should concern us is the glory of God. We need to be concentrating on the areas in our lives where we fall short of the glory of God as His dear children. One such area where we all fall short is in our prayer lives.
We know from Jeremiah 17:9 that our hearts are desperately wicked above ALL ELSE. “The heart is more deceitful than all else and desperately sick, who can understand it?” Our hearts are deceitful. Our hearts try to rationalize away our sin enabling us to convince ourselves that we are all right. But we’re not. Unless we bring our lives up against the Word of God, our only source of truth, we will continued to be deceived believing we are basically good people apart from the righteousness of God.
But God knows our hearts; nothing can be hidden from His view. We can make all the excuses in the world and He knows the truth. Part of being a Christian is recognizing our sin for what it is and confessing it to the God who knows it already. We must be humble and vulnerable before Him if we are to give Him glory in any way.
One thing I want to stress in the next few blog posts is the vital understanding that
prayerlessness is a great sin. And we must confess it as such to our great God. To recognize our sin for what it is and to say the same thing about it that God says. Only then, can we repent of it and deal with it in God’s way. Prayerlessness is a great sin. But also know this: Nothing better defines the spiritual conditions of a person than that person’s prayer life.
While it is the duty of every Christian, it is also a compulsion of the true believer to pray. Prayer is a duty in that God impresses on us continually in His Word that we are to be a praying people. They are subtle commands throughout Scripture, but commands, nonetheless.
Growing up our earthly fathers gave us commands. Even when given in a loving manner, we knew they weren’t suggestions but commands. They were commands, but it was not just 'law' to us. We also knew that they came from a father who loved us and wanted only the best for us and whose job it was to protect us from harm. If we were obedient children, we gladly did what our fathers told us to do and we honored him by such obedience.
Something we must understand is this: When God redeems a person, He changes a person's desires. We still live in a body of unredeemed flesh with its own desires (hopefully being overcome daily as we battle the flesh), but we also have these new desires that God has given us to do what we could not do in our own flesh. For the Christian, prayer is one of those new desires after God's own heart. Every believer should have the desire to pray.
Philippians 4:6 -- In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Romans 12:12 -- Christians are to be “devoted to prayer.”
Luke 18:1 -- Jesus taught His disciples that “at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.”
1 Peter 4:7 -- Believers are to be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
Many passages tell us HOW to pray, based on the assumption that prayer would necessarily and naturally occur.
Matthew 6:9 -- Pray, then, in this way.
Jesus knew that His hearers understood they were to pray and would want to know how.
Colossians 4:2 -- Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 -- Pray without ceasing.
Prayer is the outworking not only of an external requirement but also of an internal passion. The deepest longings of a Spirit-filled heart flow out in prayer.
Psalm 55:1 -- Give ear to my prayer, O God; and do not hide Thyself from my supplication. Give heed to me, and answer me.”
No one commanded the psalmist to pray. He was compelled to pray from the condition of his heart.
Psalm 61:1 -- Hear my cry, O God; give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to Thee, when my heart is faint.
Psalm 119:58 -- I entreated Thy favor with all my heart.
Psalm 119:145 -- I cried with all my heart; answer me, O Lord!
Prayer is like breathing – you don’t have to be commanded to breathe. Air pressure exerted on your lungs forces you to breathe. Believers exist in sort of a prayer pressure in which praying is a natural response to their environment.
Acts 9:11 -- The Lord spoke to Ananias and said, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying.”
There is no record that Paul was commanded to pray immediately following his conversion. He prayed because his heart was compelled to do so.
Romans 8:15 -- As believers we “have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!”
1 Thessalonians 3:10 -- Night and day we keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face.
A person can pray earnestly night and day only when it is an internal compulsion. These are things you are not going to have to be reminded to pray about.
1 Timothy 5:5 -- She who is a widow indeed…continues in entreaties and prayers night and day.
WHY WOULD A WIDOW PRAY NIGHT AND DAY? When I first asked this question in our ladies’ Bible study one woman blurted out, “Because she can!” To busy women focused on meeting the needs of our husbands and children, that was funny, perhaps, but in all seriousness, this widow prayed day and night because she had a great need of God. Those who need God most will be found praying most.
WHERE DOES THIS COMPULSION COME FROM? It is generated by the Spirit of God within us.
The measure of a person’s spirituality is not determined by how well he conforms to the demand to pray but by the extent he is compelled to pray because of an internal passion for others in God’s kingdom.
Our first response to hearing the news of someone falling into sin should be to pray for that person whether it is a beliver or an unbeliever. Because God is sovereign he has allowed that person to fall into sin for whatever reasons He may have. But be sure of this: He has His reasons and His purposes will not be thwarted. Because we are fallen, we will fall more often that we would like. Hopefully, when we do, there will be many, many Christians surrounding us in prayer. Even though it does not appear to me to be so, I pray that I am wrong. I also pray that God would awaken in His children the awareness of their own sinfulness in not praying as they should.
We know that our hearts are desperately wicked. We also know that God is at work in the true believer sanctifying him daily as he yields to the Holy Spirit as He cuts, shapes and molds him into the image of Christ. For some of us, that cutting and shaping is more painful than for others. We also know that the unbeliever’s heart is desperately wicked, and nobody is working to make him more holy as he goes about his life in this world. Yet we tend to look at him and judge him or in some ways compare our lives to his in order that we may feel better about ourselves because WE NOW KNOW WE FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. Where are YOU spiritually? Be honest with your Lord and let Him show you how He sees your heart right now.
WHAT IS A GOOD INDICATOR THAT YOUR HEART IS RIGHT? The passions of a person’s heart will come out in his prayers. If you examine what you pray for and find you are praying only for your needs, problems, questions and struggles, that is an indication of where your heart is.
If you pray infrequently, briefly, and in a shallow manner, you have a cold heart because prayer is not an inner desire. Don’t let your heart deceive you into thinking things are okay between you and God! The call to the duty of prayer will not overcome a cold heart because prayer is an internal compulsion not fulfilled by conformity to an external standard. Lack of prayer doesn’t mean that a person is MERELY DISOBEDIENT; it indicates selfishness because of a cold heart.
Something is wrong!
More to come.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Do You Pray?
I have been disturbed lately by the things I hear Christians talking about. It seems as though one cannot have a conversation today without someone bringing up this or that famous person’s scandal. Why are we so interested or surprised by what sinner’s do? Sinner’s sin; it is their nature to sin. Christians ought to know that, right?
When the earthquake happened in Haiti, I heard “Christians” who were quick to offer their theories of why Almighty God would send judgment there.
I asked myself the question: Why are we so quick to point to certain sins of others rather than to see the overall picture of God’s judgment and that we are all just as guilty? We have all immeasurably offended a holy God! Where’s the grace we have been shown being poured out on others who need to know our God? What is the root of the problem with Christians who need to be focused on what God is doing in their own lives, rather than what's going on in the lives of people who clearly don’t believe the truth of the Gospel? We sit around and talk about the world as if those in the world belong to us. Our first reaction seems to be to accuse and condemn when there is so much that needs to be cleaned up in our own lives if we would really take a good look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word.
What’s not to understand about sinners sinning? Every sinner is going to sin; maybe he just doesn’t get caught or exposed. I will use Tiger Woods as an example of what I am talking about. The Bible is very clear about the sins Tiger is being accused of committing. But, what has he done that none of us is capable of? Jesus said that if one even looks upon a woman with lust he has already committed adultery in his heart. I don’t even know the “story” as reported by the press, (and I don’t care) but whatever Tiger is guilty of, he certainly needs to repent of his sin before a holy God, AS WE ALL DO. Why should Tiger get singled out and focused upon? Why do we act as though we are appalled and shocked? Is it because he has more money than most? DO WE REALLY WANT TO BELIEVE THAT MONEY IS WHAT MAKES PEOPLE DIFFERENT OR THAT IT IS MONEY THAT SHOULD CAUSE PEOPLE TO BE HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD?
There are billions of other sinners out there doing as much if not worse than he is. Adultery is just as bad as the sin of lust or covetousness or greed according to Jesus – it’s lusting after something that doesn’t belong to you. Slander and gossip is just as great a sin. He who has not looked upon another has the right to judge this sin. Understand that while we can judge the sin and we can condemn the sinner according to the authority of God’s Word, I doubt any of us have called Tiger up recently and confronted him with his sin.
On the contrary, we who have been forgiven so much, seeing people locked in the power of sin and domination by Satan, ought to have the most compassion. Instead of using our words to gossip, why aren't we praying for God to save him?
If we want to start pointing our little judgmental fingers, let’s take a good look at ourselves. For example, why don’t we look like the early church who turned the world upside down with the gospel? For the most part, we don’t even faintly resemble her. We have the same Holy Spirit, the same power, the same privileges in Christ, and the same Lord as the Head of the Church.
When he got saved, the average Christian soon understood there were certain disciplines like Bible study, being part of a solid, healthy church and prayer that came with his new life in Christ. One of the greatest sins of believers is a lack of prayer. Why is the church so pathetic today? Why is the average Christian basically ineffective in the world today with little to no influence? I would submit to you that it is a lack of prayer.
Seriously ask yourself this question: Do you (have you up to today) viewed a lack of prayer as a weakness or a sin? I hope to show you that it is the sin of prayerlessness that is at the root of any spiritual problems we may have. Prayer is the working power of the Church of Christ.
So, I ask you: DO YOU PRAY? Maybe you think you pray, but you may find out that you really have not been praying in the truest sense of what it means to pray.
Take a minute and think about your answers to the following questions:
WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOUR LIFE IS CHARACTERIZED MORE BY LIVING IN THE FLESH OR THE SPIRIT?
DO YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU PRAY ENOUGH? IF NOT, WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD BE ENOUGH?
DO YOU HONESTLY PRAY FOR ½ HOUR A DAY? (I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE LITTLE PRAYERS WE SEND UP INTERMITTANTLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY.) DO YOU PRAY 15 MINUTES OR LESS A DAY? FIVE MINUTES A DAY?
Andrew Murray, who wrote much about our prayer life said that it is “Only the prayerless who are too proud to own up to prayerlessness.”
So, in essence, we all should feel as though we don’t pray enough.
WHAT ARE SOME EXCUSES WE USE? “I don’t know how. I don’t have a quiet place to pray. I have no time.” “I keep getting distracted.”
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE USE EXCUSES? Your son just broke your great, great grandmother’s antique vase that every other grandchild wanted, but she gave it to you. He was playing ball in the house, something that he knew he was not allowed to do. Then, to make matters worse, he says the dog jumped up and caused him not to catch the ball or it was because you just waxed the floor and he slipped.
Adam and Eve both sinned, yet they played the blame game the whole way around, ultimately accusing God, Himself.
WHY DO WE USE EXCUSES? So the deep guilt of the situation is not fully realized.
There is no single sin which each one of us ought to acknowledge with deeper shame than the sin of prayerlessness.
We need to establish it in our hearts once and for all that whenever we are lax in our prayer life, we must know that we are sinning greatly.
More next time.
When the earthquake happened in Haiti, I heard “Christians” who were quick to offer their theories of why Almighty God would send judgment there.
I asked myself the question: Why are we so quick to point to certain sins of others rather than to see the overall picture of God’s judgment and that we are all just as guilty? We have all immeasurably offended a holy God! Where’s the grace we have been shown being poured out on others who need to know our God? What is the root of the problem with Christians who need to be focused on what God is doing in their own lives, rather than what's going on in the lives of people who clearly don’t believe the truth of the Gospel? We sit around and talk about the world as if those in the world belong to us. Our first reaction seems to be to accuse and condemn when there is so much that needs to be cleaned up in our own lives if we would really take a good look at ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word.
What’s not to understand about sinners sinning? Every sinner is going to sin; maybe he just doesn’t get caught or exposed. I will use Tiger Woods as an example of what I am talking about. The Bible is very clear about the sins Tiger is being accused of committing. But, what has he done that none of us is capable of? Jesus said that if one even looks upon a woman with lust he has already committed adultery in his heart. I don’t even know the “story” as reported by the press, (and I don’t care) but whatever Tiger is guilty of, he certainly needs to repent of his sin before a holy God, AS WE ALL DO. Why should Tiger get singled out and focused upon? Why do we act as though we are appalled and shocked? Is it because he has more money than most? DO WE REALLY WANT TO BELIEVE THAT MONEY IS WHAT MAKES PEOPLE DIFFERENT OR THAT IT IS MONEY THAT SHOULD CAUSE PEOPLE TO BE HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD?
There are billions of other sinners out there doing as much if not worse than he is. Adultery is just as bad as the sin of lust or covetousness or greed according to Jesus – it’s lusting after something that doesn’t belong to you. Slander and gossip is just as great a sin. He who has not looked upon another has the right to judge this sin. Understand that while we can judge the sin and we can condemn the sinner according to the authority of God’s Word, I doubt any of us have called Tiger up recently and confronted him with his sin.
On the contrary, we who have been forgiven so much, seeing people locked in the power of sin and domination by Satan, ought to have the most compassion. Instead of using our words to gossip, why aren't we praying for God to save him?
If we want to start pointing our little judgmental fingers, let’s take a good look at ourselves. For example, why don’t we look like the early church who turned the world upside down with the gospel? For the most part, we don’t even faintly resemble her. We have the same Holy Spirit, the same power, the same privileges in Christ, and the same Lord as the Head of the Church.
When he got saved, the average Christian soon understood there were certain disciplines like Bible study, being part of a solid, healthy church and prayer that came with his new life in Christ. One of the greatest sins of believers is a lack of prayer. Why is the church so pathetic today? Why is the average Christian basically ineffective in the world today with little to no influence? I would submit to you that it is a lack of prayer.
Seriously ask yourself this question: Do you (have you up to today) viewed a lack of prayer as a weakness or a sin? I hope to show you that it is the sin of prayerlessness that is at the root of any spiritual problems we may have. Prayer is the working power of the Church of Christ.
So, I ask you: DO YOU PRAY? Maybe you think you pray, but you may find out that you really have not been praying in the truest sense of what it means to pray.
Take a minute and think about your answers to the following questions:
WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOUR LIFE IS CHARACTERIZED MORE BY LIVING IN THE FLESH OR THE SPIRIT?
DO YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU PRAY ENOUGH? IF NOT, WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD BE ENOUGH?
DO YOU HONESTLY PRAY FOR ½ HOUR A DAY? (I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE LITTLE PRAYERS WE SEND UP INTERMITTANTLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY.) DO YOU PRAY 15 MINUTES OR LESS A DAY? FIVE MINUTES A DAY?
Andrew Murray, who wrote much about our prayer life said that it is “Only the prayerless who are too proud to own up to prayerlessness.”
So, in essence, we all should feel as though we don’t pray enough.
WHAT ARE SOME EXCUSES WE USE? “I don’t know how. I don’t have a quiet place to pray. I have no time.” “I keep getting distracted.”
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE USE EXCUSES? Your son just broke your great, great grandmother’s antique vase that every other grandchild wanted, but she gave it to you. He was playing ball in the house, something that he knew he was not allowed to do. Then, to make matters worse, he says the dog jumped up and caused him not to catch the ball or it was because you just waxed the floor and he slipped.
Adam and Eve both sinned, yet they played the blame game the whole way around, ultimately accusing God, Himself.
WHY DO WE USE EXCUSES? So the deep guilt of the situation is not fully realized.
There is no single sin which each one of us ought to acknowledge with deeper shame than the sin of prayerlessness.
We need to establish it in our hearts once and for all that whenever we are lax in our prayer life, we must know that we are sinning greatly.
More next time.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Urging All Christians: Come Out of the Closet and Fight!
A number of years back there was a fad in the ecumenical church where everyone was asking this question: "What would Jesus do?" Everyone was jumping on the bandwagon wearing jewelry with WWJD, drinking from WWJD mugs and buying all kinds of memorabilia with this theme. It was a great question, but where did it get the church? It is getting harder and harder to "see" Jesus living among us in His church. I don't know where people went to find the answer to this question, but as far as I can see, it certainly was not the Bible.
While we need to pray fiercely for God to change the hearts of sinners everywhere, believers who know the truth found in Scripture need to start coming out of their proverbial prayer closets and fighting the good fight. We're hiding out from the very ones we are supposed to boldly proclaim the gospel to. We're afraid they won't like us anymore. We're afraid we may have to give up our nice, comfortable lifestyles and face some persecution for a change. Um...yeah...isn't that what we signed up for when we enlisted in the Lord's army?
People, beloved of God, children of the King, we're losing the battle, in case you haven't noticed. We need more soldiers to lay down their lives and be willing to go out on the front lines of the battlefield. I know it's easier to stay in the closet and think, "Well, somebody else will fight the fight because Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of Hades would not overpower it." This is true, but He chose to do this work through the church -- through the individuals He called OUT of the world to be a separate people. And wherever you're hiding out, come out of there, too! If that's not your heart's desire, then I have to ask you: 'Why did you say you would follow Him?" There are too many Christian brothers and sisters standing alone with no one to have their backs. And if the ones who are fighting for the truth try to hold these slackers to some level of accountability, the warriors are the ones who are accused of being unloving, intolerant and divisive.
From the moment Jesus established His ministry, He waged a very aggressive public controversy. What would Jesus do? All one needs to do is to study the gospels to find out. Jesus declared war against the religious hypocrites -- the phonies of His day right from the start of His ministry. These religious elite wanted Jesus to let them alone in their comfortable lifestyles. But Jesus kept at it. He kept picking at these infected scabs, if you will. Why? Because He hates false religion. He hates what it does to the souls of men. What would Jesus do? Today, it would not be unlike Him to go into every idolatrous, well-loved religious establishment and tear them to pieces just like He did on two occasions when He cleansed the Temple. Why did He go in and wreck havoc in the Temple at the beginning and end of His ministry? Judaism, which God had established, had become rotten to the core. The Scribes and Pharisees were the ones who represented this religion -- they were the false teachers of Jesus' day. Today we have popes, priests, and many other types of clergy that set themselves above the people.
If you have determined not to leave the closet of your easy Christianity, you must ask this question -- Is my faith real? Or is my faith like the Pharisees who didn't want their world rocked by anyone challenging their belief system. Real faith is bold, powerful, convicting and dogmatic.
Maybe you're still in the closet because you are ashamed of Him who bought you. Let's bring that down to where the rubber meets the road. You ought not to be ashamed of Him, the One who died in shame for you. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
Maybe you don't like conflict. Who does? I hate conflict, believe it or not. It has been one of the biggest struggles I have had to overcome as a Christian. My whole life I have run from conflict. I fear rejection more than the average person fears almost anything else. After stripping layer after layer of 'self' away from me, God has me where He wants me; His passion has finally become my passion. The world would say I'm dangerous. The man or woman who fears God alone is powerful in God's kingdom but dangerous to Satan's. That God has given me boldness to proclaim Him just goes to show His sanctifying work in me. All I must do is yield to Him in obedience, and He will enable me to do all that He calls me to do. And, what He has called me to do is fight!
All these things are the result of pride. Whenever we care more about ourselves than others, we have fallen into the great sin of pride. I can't fear man more than God -- that is the bottom line.
We're to confess Christ to an unbelieving world. Those who have no desire to do that need to hear the truth. Salvation starts with confession and it continues on with even greater confession as we get to know Him. The Great Commission is for every individual believer. Are you taking part in the Lord's work? If not, why? Honestly ask yourself what you are doing to serve Christ in taking His message to a lost and dying world who desperately needs to hear it. Although they will just as much spit in your face as look at you, you must be willing to be laughed at, mocked, ridiculed, and even martyred for your faith. Most unbelievers will run in the opposite direction because when you make known what you stand for, they make no bones about letting you know that what you stand for is what they hate. But if it happened this way to our Lord and Master, why shouldn't we face the same opposition and persecution here on this earth? After all, this is not our home. We're aliens and strangers here. Our home is in heaven, and it won't be long until we get to live in the place we were created for.
To stay in the closet is sin. All sin is unbelief. To say you believe but act in unbelief (sin) is hypocrisy. Any hypocrite today is not any better than the Scribes and the Pharisees, and Jesus ended up condemning them all to hell. Hypocrisy confuses the very world we're supposed to be winning to Christ. We're to be clearly presenting the Gospel to them, but our lives look just like theirs. And then on top of it all, we're not giving them the Gospel accurately for the most part. Who wouldn't want to go to heaven and have a great life here? That's what our watered-down ,non-offensive Gospel promises. Believe in Jesus (we don't tell them what that entails) and you will have a wonderful life and will go to heaven when you die. They say, "Sign me up!" Who wouldn't? But is that the Gospel? Emphatically, no!
The true Gospel calls sinners to a life of self-denial. It calls sinners to come out of their comfort zones and be willing to be treated as Christ was treated. Deny thyself -- lay down your life -- die with Christ. Most would say, "Whoa! Who said anything about that?"
Certainty...conviction...dogmaticism...all have a bad connotation when relating to spiritual things. They all equal one thing to the unbelieving -- close-minded, bigotry. But the Gospel is absolute truth and it is exclusive. We must be dogmatic about the truth. We will be held accountable by God for whether we believe Him, taking Him at His Word, or not. Belief brings conviction. We will live out what we believe. It's that simple. If I don't believe there is a God, then I will live that way. If I believe in a god of my own making, then I will live any way I want to live. If I believe that there is One God who created the whole universe and who created me, then I will live to honor Him and to fear Him with a holy reverence. I'm going to want to be obedient to do all that He asks me to do, whatever it takes.
There is an invisible war raging all around us. How would Jesus respond to this war? Would He take a militant stance or would He be nice? Jesus was kind and loving to those who knew they were lost in their sin, to those who knew they needed a Savior, to those who belonged to Him. But He never stopped fighting the battle against false religion and error.
Ephesians 6:12 refers to the spiritual warfare all Christians are in. We are told that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood...2 Cor 10:4 says we have weapons. Armed physical combat with weapons are for what purpose in war? The intent would be to kill people on the other side, right? The enemy. Spiritual combat with truth is intended to save the enemy from spiritual death. Our weapon is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God -- truth. We're soldiers in God's army waging war against Satan and his lies.
In Jude 3 we're told to earnestly contend for the once-for-all delivered to the saints faith.
1 Timothy 6:12 tells us to fight the good fight of faith. The other day we saw that it is part of our job responsibilities to guard the treasure. It's a battle for the truth. And spiritual warfare is a life-or-death conflict against the forces of evil and their lies. This is a war with eternal consequences. It is against demonic error, the destruction of falsehoods, NOT people. This war is to give life to those who are in bondage to Satan and to sin who don't even know it. Strongholds of lies and false doctrine have blinded them to the truth and they are held captive by Satan to do his will all the time believing it is the right thing to do. They don't have the ability to be able to discern between right and wrong, truth and error. That's why we must pray that God opens their eyes to the truth we give them and to prepare the soil of their heart to receive the good seed of the Gospel.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 -- For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
We're called to defend the truth and be on the offensive against all false belief system. Paul's strategy to demolish false ideologies was to systematically dismantle erroneous doctrines, cast down false arguments and expose lies with the truth. Shining the light into the darkness will do one of two things -- dispel the darkness or, while bringing conviction, give the one who continues to live in darkness no excuse. It condemns him to eternal darkness. Both things glorify Christ because the truth was made known.
Truth is the only weapon for the believer. Even though false teachers in Corinth were attacking Paul with personal insults, calling him names and trying to destroy his reputation by discrediting him, he answered their deception with the truth of God's Word. It's all he needed because it's that powerful. The goal IS annihilation -- of FALSE DOCTRINE, NOT PEOPLE!
Most would say that Paul was not "nice". In his righteous anger against them with utter contempt for all they stood for, he even cursed those who were giving the Galatians another gospel, which really wasn't another gospel but a false one. There is only one true Gospel of Jesus Christ. All those who preach a false gospel are condemned to an eternity in hell. When the circumstances warranted, Paul could be very blunt, sometimes even using sarcasm (1 Cor. 4:8-10 and all through 2 Cor).
Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul -- all could employ derision effectively and appropriately to highlight the absurdity of serious error. Even the apostle of love, John, called for believers to shun those who bring a false gospel. In essence, he said, "Don't even give them the time of day."
Love is intense. It's passionate and zealous for the honor of the one loved. Is the Church today characterized by the same fire as all those men mentioned above? Sadly, no. What we see, for the most part, is complete apathy. Just living the good life, enjoying retirement, wanting nothing more than our own ease, comfort and pleasure. We've bought the lie hook, line and sinker. We not only look like the world. If we're truly honest with ourselves, we truly love the world. That's where we find our passions.
There is no shortage of data to clearly show that Jesus did not take a friendly approach in dealing with false teachers and religious hypocrites. It wasn't until my family and I started listening to John MacArthur consistently, faithfully preach through the gospels week after week that we saw a vivid picture of Jesus in His confrontations with the religious elite of His day. The Scribes and Pharisees at times provoked Him, but more often than not, He was the one doing the provoking. Hostile is not too strong a word to describe Jesus' reaction to the false system of religion that they represented. Never shying away from conflict, His passion for the truth is evident in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Four beautiful portraits of the Lover of souls Who also loved the truth, because the love of truth is the foundation for the love of people. He couldn't or wouldn't soften His message if it meant not giving someone the whole truth. That wouldn't be love.
One last note: It wasn't long listening to John before I could clearly see that the religious institution that Judaism had become in Jesus' day is identical in many ways to the Roman Catholic Church of our day. It is like many other religious institutions, but I am quite familiar with the RCC. I have said that I have many family members who are blindly following the RCC leadership into hell, so I have a passion to tell them, specifically, the truth. And, yes, I'm passionate about it. It's why I hate Catholicism so much; it's the one I'm closest to.
When they call me a religious fanatic, do I run to my closet and hide? Not any longer. I say to myself, "What would Jesus do?" and I thank Him for enabling me to see the truth. And, I keep fighting!
Romans 1:16-17 -- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith." That was my life verse way before I was passionate to proclaim the gospel. Not surprising since the Lover of my soul knew me before the foundation of the world.
Charles Spurgeon -- I never could believe in the Jesus Christ of some people, for the Christ in whom they believe is simply full of affectionateness and gentleness, whereas I believe there never was a more splendid specimen of manhood, even its sternness, than the Saviour; and the very lips which declared that He would not break a bruised reed uttered the most terrible anathemas upon the Pharisees.
While we need to pray fiercely for God to change the hearts of sinners everywhere, believers who know the truth found in Scripture need to start coming out of their proverbial prayer closets and fighting the good fight. We're hiding out from the very ones we are supposed to boldly proclaim the gospel to. We're afraid they won't like us anymore. We're afraid we may have to give up our nice, comfortable lifestyles and face some persecution for a change. Um...yeah...isn't that what we signed up for when we enlisted in the Lord's army?
People, beloved of God, children of the King, we're losing the battle, in case you haven't noticed. We need more soldiers to lay down their lives and be willing to go out on the front lines of the battlefield. I know it's easier to stay in the closet and think, "Well, somebody else will fight the fight because Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of Hades would not overpower it." This is true, but He chose to do this work through the church -- through the individuals He called OUT of the world to be a separate people. And wherever you're hiding out, come out of there, too! If that's not your heart's desire, then I have to ask you: 'Why did you say you would follow Him?" There are too many Christian brothers and sisters standing alone with no one to have their backs. And if the ones who are fighting for the truth try to hold these slackers to some level of accountability, the warriors are the ones who are accused of being unloving, intolerant and divisive.
From the moment Jesus established His ministry, He waged a very aggressive public controversy. What would Jesus do? All one needs to do is to study the gospels to find out. Jesus declared war against the religious hypocrites -- the phonies of His day right from the start of His ministry. These religious elite wanted Jesus to let them alone in their comfortable lifestyles. But Jesus kept at it. He kept picking at these infected scabs, if you will. Why? Because He hates false religion. He hates what it does to the souls of men. What would Jesus do? Today, it would not be unlike Him to go into every idolatrous, well-loved religious establishment and tear them to pieces just like He did on two occasions when He cleansed the Temple. Why did He go in and wreck havoc in the Temple at the beginning and end of His ministry? Judaism, which God had established, had become rotten to the core. The Scribes and Pharisees were the ones who represented this religion -- they were the false teachers of Jesus' day. Today we have popes, priests, and many other types of clergy that set themselves above the people.
If you have determined not to leave the closet of your easy Christianity, you must ask this question -- Is my faith real? Or is my faith like the Pharisees who didn't want their world rocked by anyone challenging their belief system. Real faith is bold, powerful, convicting and dogmatic.
Maybe you're still in the closet because you are ashamed of Him who bought you. Let's bring that down to where the rubber meets the road. You ought not to be ashamed of Him, the One who died in shame for you. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.
Maybe you don't like conflict. Who does? I hate conflict, believe it or not. It has been one of the biggest struggles I have had to overcome as a Christian. My whole life I have run from conflict. I fear rejection more than the average person fears almost anything else. After stripping layer after layer of 'self' away from me, God has me where He wants me; His passion has finally become my passion. The world would say I'm dangerous. The man or woman who fears God alone is powerful in God's kingdom but dangerous to Satan's. That God has given me boldness to proclaim Him just goes to show His sanctifying work in me. All I must do is yield to Him in obedience, and He will enable me to do all that He calls me to do. And, what He has called me to do is fight!
All these things are the result of pride. Whenever we care more about ourselves than others, we have fallen into the great sin of pride. I can't fear man more than God -- that is the bottom line.
We're to confess Christ to an unbelieving world. Those who have no desire to do that need to hear the truth. Salvation starts with confession and it continues on with even greater confession as we get to know Him. The Great Commission is for every individual believer. Are you taking part in the Lord's work? If not, why? Honestly ask yourself what you are doing to serve Christ in taking His message to a lost and dying world who desperately needs to hear it. Although they will just as much spit in your face as look at you, you must be willing to be laughed at, mocked, ridiculed, and even martyred for your faith. Most unbelievers will run in the opposite direction because when you make known what you stand for, they make no bones about letting you know that what you stand for is what they hate. But if it happened this way to our Lord and Master, why shouldn't we face the same opposition and persecution here on this earth? After all, this is not our home. We're aliens and strangers here. Our home is in heaven, and it won't be long until we get to live in the place we were created for.
To stay in the closet is sin. All sin is unbelief. To say you believe but act in unbelief (sin) is hypocrisy. Any hypocrite today is not any better than the Scribes and the Pharisees, and Jesus ended up condemning them all to hell. Hypocrisy confuses the very world we're supposed to be winning to Christ. We're to be clearly presenting the Gospel to them, but our lives look just like theirs. And then on top of it all, we're not giving them the Gospel accurately for the most part. Who wouldn't want to go to heaven and have a great life here? That's what our watered-down ,non-offensive Gospel promises. Believe in Jesus (we don't tell them what that entails) and you will have a wonderful life and will go to heaven when you die. They say, "Sign me up!" Who wouldn't? But is that the Gospel? Emphatically, no!
The true Gospel calls sinners to a life of self-denial. It calls sinners to come out of their comfort zones and be willing to be treated as Christ was treated. Deny thyself -- lay down your life -- die with Christ. Most would say, "Whoa! Who said anything about that?"
Certainty...conviction...dogmaticism...all have a bad connotation when relating to spiritual things. They all equal one thing to the unbelieving -- close-minded, bigotry. But the Gospel is absolute truth and it is exclusive. We must be dogmatic about the truth. We will be held accountable by God for whether we believe Him, taking Him at His Word, or not. Belief brings conviction. We will live out what we believe. It's that simple. If I don't believe there is a God, then I will live that way. If I believe in a god of my own making, then I will live any way I want to live. If I believe that there is One God who created the whole universe and who created me, then I will live to honor Him and to fear Him with a holy reverence. I'm going to want to be obedient to do all that He asks me to do, whatever it takes.
There is an invisible war raging all around us. How would Jesus respond to this war? Would He take a militant stance or would He be nice? Jesus was kind and loving to those who knew they were lost in their sin, to those who knew they needed a Savior, to those who belonged to Him. But He never stopped fighting the battle against false religion and error.
Ephesians 6:12 refers to the spiritual warfare all Christians are in. We are told that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood...2 Cor 10:4 says we have weapons. Armed physical combat with weapons are for what purpose in war? The intent would be to kill people on the other side, right? The enemy. Spiritual combat with truth is intended to save the enemy from spiritual death. Our weapon is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God -- truth. We're soldiers in God's army waging war against Satan and his lies.
In Jude 3 we're told to earnestly contend for the once-for-all delivered to the saints faith.
1 Timothy 6:12 tells us to fight the good fight of faith. The other day we saw that it is part of our job responsibilities to guard the treasure. It's a battle for the truth. And spiritual warfare is a life-or-death conflict against the forces of evil and their lies. This is a war with eternal consequences. It is against demonic error, the destruction of falsehoods, NOT people. This war is to give life to those who are in bondage to Satan and to sin who don't even know it. Strongholds of lies and false doctrine have blinded them to the truth and they are held captive by Satan to do his will all the time believing it is the right thing to do. They don't have the ability to be able to discern between right and wrong, truth and error. That's why we must pray that God opens their eyes to the truth we give them and to prepare the soil of their heart to receive the good seed of the Gospel.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 -- For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
We're called to defend the truth and be on the offensive against all false belief system. Paul's strategy to demolish false ideologies was to systematically dismantle erroneous doctrines, cast down false arguments and expose lies with the truth. Shining the light into the darkness will do one of two things -- dispel the darkness or, while bringing conviction, give the one who continues to live in darkness no excuse. It condemns him to eternal darkness. Both things glorify Christ because the truth was made known.
Truth is the only weapon for the believer. Even though false teachers in Corinth were attacking Paul with personal insults, calling him names and trying to destroy his reputation by discrediting him, he answered their deception with the truth of God's Word. It's all he needed because it's that powerful. The goal IS annihilation -- of FALSE DOCTRINE, NOT PEOPLE!
Most would say that Paul was not "nice". In his righteous anger against them with utter contempt for all they stood for, he even cursed those who were giving the Galatians another gospel, which really wasn't another gospel but a false one. There is only one true Gospel of Jesus Christ. All those who preach a false gospel are condemned to an eternity in hell. When the circumstances warranted, Paul could be very blunt, sometimes even using sarcasm (1 Cor. 4:8-10 and all through 2 Cor).
Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul -- all could employ derision effectively and appropriately to highlight the absurdity of serious error. Even the apostle of love, John, called for believers to shun those who bring a false gospel. In essence, he said, "Don't even give them the time of day."
Love is intense. It's passionate and zealous for the honor of the one loved. Is the Church today characterized by the same fire as all those men mentioned above? Sadly, no. What we see, for the most part, is complete apathy. Just living the good life, enjoying retirement, wanting nothing more than our own ease, comfort and pleasure. We've bought the lie hook, line and sinker. We not only look like the world. If we're truly honest with ourselves, we truly love the world. That's where we find our passions.
There is no shortage of data to clearly show that Jesus did not take a friendly approach in dealing with false teachers and religious hypocrites. It wasn't until my family and I started listening to John MacArthur consistently, faithfully preach through the gospels week after week that we saw a vivid picture of Jesus in His confrontations with the religious elite of His day. The Scribes and Pharisees at times provoked Him, but more often than not, He was the one doing the provoking. Hostile is not too strong a word to describe Jesus' reaction to the false system of religion that they represented. Never shying away from conflict, His passion for the truth is evident in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Four beautiful portraits of the Lover of souls Who also loved the truth, because the love of truth is the foundation for the love of people. He couldn't or wouldn't soften His message if it meant not giving someone the whole truth. That wouldn't be love.
One last note: It wasn't long listening to John before I could clearly see that the religious institution that Judaism had become in Jesus' day is identical in many ways to the Roman Catholic Church of our day. It is like many other religious institutions, but I am quite familiar with the RCC. I have said that I have many family members who are blindly following the RCC leadership into hell, so I have a passion to tell them, specifically, the truth. And, yes, I'm passionate about it. It's why I hate Catholicism so much; it's the one I'm closest to.
When they call me a religious fanatic, do I run to my closet and hide? Not any longer. I say to myself, "What would Jesus do?" and I thank Him for enabling me to see the truth. And, I keep fighting!
Romans 1:16-17 -- For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith." That was my life verse way before I was passionate to proclaim the gospel. Not surprising since the Lover of my soul knew me before the foundation of the world.
Charles Spurgeon -- I never could believe in the Jesus Christ of some people, for the Christ in whom they believe is simply full of affectionateness and gentleness, whereas I believe there never was a more splendid specimen of manhood, even its sternness, than the Saviour; and the very lips which declared that He would not break a bruised reed uttered the most terrible anathemas upon the Pharisees.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Non-Negotiables
What's true and what's false? Let's look at essential issues that Christians need to consider when taking what they hear and are taught through the grid of Scripture. A lot of the material I am writing about today is being taken from "Fool's Gold? Discerning Truth in an Age of Error," Chapter 11 by Dan Dumas.
In order for the man or woman of God to be able to discern properly, he or she is going to have to take a high view of God's Word, God's Person and salvation and the gospel. Dan Dumas says that these three comprise the biblical framework for determining what hills Christians should die on.
He says, "Because these three theological categories are of primary importance, believers should be careful to evaluate every ministry and every message they encounter through this doctrinal grid. Where you go to church, what books you buy, how you respond to the sermons you hear, and with whom you associate and minister -- each of these should be primarily evaluated on this basis." Pages 181-182
A High View of God's Word -- For the Christian, the Word of God is life. Not only does it give life, but it sustains it as well. A "Christian" who does not hunger and thirst for the Word of God is like a baby who never cries for its bottle.
"God's Word to the Christian should be like bread to the hungry man (Matt. 4:4) or like water to the thirsty deer (Ps. 42:1). By keeping its commands, we keep ourselves pure (Ps. 119:9). By following its guidance, we have a light for our paths (Ps. 119:105). By meditating on it, we find blessing and joy (Ps. 1:1-2). And by wrestling with it, we find our own lives being changed and sanctified (Heb. 4:12). It is our perfect guide and our ultimate authority (Ps. 19:7-11) -- because it is the very Word of God." Page 182
"Churches, sermons, books, and articles may claim to be Christian. But if they undermine or contradict God's Word in any way, you can be certain they don't meet God's approval. Sometimes these errors take away from what God has taught...Other times they try to add to what God has taught (for example, cult groups who place the teachings of their leaders on the same level as the Bible). But in either case, the Scripture itself responds with strong condemnation. Consider Christ's final warning in the book of Revelation (the book that completed the New Testament canon):
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (22:18-19).
Without question, maintaining a high view of Scripture is a hill that every Christian should die on. If God's Word is undermined, such that God Himself is no longer given the final say, then the door is opened to all kinds of error. A high view of Scripture is absolutely indispensable to the discerning Christian, and this high view must uphold at least three elements." Pages 183
"The authenticity of Scripture. First, a proper view of Scripture necessitates a full understanding and acknowledgement of the Bible's authenticity -- namely, that the Bible is indeed the inspired Word of God." Pages 183-184
True wisdom is only found in the Word of God. I have been driving home the point in previous posts that the Word of God is the sole authority of truth. It is absolute truth.
"So unless we acknowledge that the Bible is indeed His Word, we forfeit all possibility of learning discernment." (Page 184)
In other words, when someone starts to say, "Well, I believe this part of the Bible but not that part," or, "I believe the Bible says this, but it means this," then we can have no hope of understanding clearly what is right and what is wrong.
"The accuracy of Scripture. ...If the Bible is God's inspired Word in every part (meaning that He is the author), then it must also be truthful in every part (including passages regarding science and history) because He is a God of truth." Page 184
"This means that Genesis should be believed when it states that the world was created in seven days. It means that Adam should be accepted as a real human being, that the Flood was a global event, that Sodom and Gomorrah were literally destroyed by fire from heaven and that Jonah was, in fact, in the belly of a fish for three days....It is not enough to accept the Scriptures as true in matters of faith and practice but deny its truthfulness in matters of history and science. If the God of truth has spoken (no matter the subject), then He has spoken truthfully.
Too often Christians accept false teachings because they trust the latest scientific or literary theories over the very Word of God. In doing so, believers relinquish their ability to discern truth from error. Why? The reason is simple: It's because they have let go of the truth, without which they have no standard for deciphering what's wrong from what's right." Page 185
"The authority of Scripture. A high view of Scripture also demands submission to its absolute authority. Because the Bible comes from God Himself, and because it reflects His perfect truthfulness, it also bears His authority as the final say in our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Because we submit to Him, we likewise submit to His Word, through the power of His Spirit (John 14:15)." Page 185
Dan goes on to say that because we have the ultimate authority of God in His Word we don't need to supplement the Bible with anything -- not human philosophy nor business principles to learn successful church growth. God has given us everything we need to live the Christian life successfully.
Accurately understanding who God is comes from the study of His Word where we find His revelation of Himself to us. What exactly about God do we need to have an accurate understanding?
"A biblical view of the Sovereign. God's greatness quickly emerges from the pages of Scripture as one of His primary characteristics....Yet despite God's majestic self-portrait, many Christians today are trying to minimize His greatness and His glory. In some circles, His sovereign power is denied...In other circles it seems Satan and demons are feared more than God Himself (as in some charismatic contexts). But the Lord whom we serve is not like us. He made the sun, moon and stars...We are not at liberty to mold Him into our image." Pages 186-187
"In discerning truth from error, we must ask ourselves, "Does a particular teaching accurately depict the God of the Bible? Does it correctly represent His character, essence, and being?" Refuse to accept any teaching where the answer is other than "yes."" Page 187
"A biblical view of the Savior. God's greatness and majesty is not only seen in His sovereign power, but also in His mercy and grace. In fact, it was because of the Father's great love for us that He sent His Son to die for our sins. (John 3:16).
As God in human flesh (John 1:1, 14; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20), Jesus Christ lived a perfect life before sacrificing Himself on the cross. As the spotless lamb (1 Peter 1:19) and once-for-all sacrifice (Heb. 10:12), He not only paid the price for our sins but also clothes us in His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). As the risen Lord (1 Cor. 15:1-8), He sits enthroned at the right hand of God the Father (Acts 7:56), waiting for the day when He will return to earth to set up His kingdom (2 Thess. 1:7-10; Reve. 20:1-6). In the meantime, all who trust Him as their Savior and choose to follow Him as Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:9-10)." Page 187
Many, like the Jehovah's Witnesses deny Christ's deity as well as the doctrine of the Trinity altogether.
"Others are more subtle, agreeing that Christians must accept Jesus as Savior but not necessarily as Lord. Some even suggest that the resurrection was spurious or that the true Christ has been misrepresented by the church. But when compared to the clear testimony of Scripture, all such accusations fall flat. And that's why a biblical view of the Savior is so important for those who seek discernment." (Page 188)
Note: Just this morning I was reading a certain author's commentary on 1 John. It was clear that he, too, believed that you could be saved without Jesus being Lord. Those articles are now filed where they belong -- in the garbage. But, if I didn't have clear discernment on understanding who Christ is, I would not have caught that error and would have continued to live in confusion when reading the Bible.
"A biblical view of the Spirit. Before Jesus left, He promised that He would send a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide Christians throughout the church age (John 14:26) -- a promise that was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:2-8)." Page 188
"The Bible clearly distinguishes the Spirit as a separate Person (John 14:26; Rom 8:11, 16, 26; 1 John 5:7) who is equal with the Father and the Son (Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 3:16-18; 13:14; Eph 4:4-6). His ministry is one of teaching (John 14:26; Luke 12:12), interceding (Rom 8:26), leading (Matt 4:1), giving life (John 6:63), filling (Eph 5:18), and sanctifying (Gal 5:16-22). As believers study God's Word, the Spirit aids us in the process (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:14). In fact, Ephesians 6:17 tells us that "the sword of the Spirit," the weapon He uses to help us fend off deception, is the Word of God. It's no wonder, then, that to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18) is parallel to "let[ting] the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Col. 3:16)." Page 188
"Confusion about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is almost as old as the church itself...Needless to say, the unbiblical practices of some charismatic groups (such as slaying in the Spirit, laughing in the Spirit, barking in the Spirit, and so on) have only increased the confusion." Pages 188-189
"But the discerning Christian is spiritually unaffected by heretical trends like these. He is like a tree, firmly planted (Ps 1:3) because His view of God (including the Father, the Son, and the Spirit) is firmly founded in the truths of Scripture. By letting God's self-portrait inform his own thinking, the discerning Christian compares what he hears with what he knows to be correct. In other words, he refuses to replace a high view of God (one that is biblically accurate) with any type of cheap substitute." Page 189
A discerning Christian must also have a high view of the Gospel. We must clearly understand the answer to the question: "What must I do to be saved?" This question is literally a question of life and death.
"Sadly, many Christians downplay key aspects of the gospel message...As a result, false professions of faith are commonplace in the contemporary church, where belief is redefined as mere assent, and repentance is missed altogether. But discerning Christians are not impressed with watered-down gospel presentations, nor are they fooled by the false promises of prosperity preachers. Instead they have a clear grasp of the gospel, always being ready to give an account for the hope that is in them (1 Pet 3:15)." Page 189
"A right view of sin. The good news of Scripture actually begins with bad news -- namely, that all men are sinners before a holy God (Rom 3:23), unable to save themselves (Isa 64:6) and therefore worthy of His condemnation (Rom 6:23). Because Adam and Eve broke God's law (Gen 3:6-7), and because all of their descendants (with the exception of Jesus Christ) have also broken His law (Jas 2:10), human beings deserve to be punished. As a perfect Judge, God's judgment for sin is death -- both physical (Gen 3:3) and spiritual (Rom 5:12-19). Scripture teaches that men and women are not only sinners through their actions (1 John 1:8, 10), but also because they inherited a sin nature from Adam and Eve (Ps 51:5; Rom 5:12-19)." Pages 189-190
A church that focuses on the felt needs of the congregation rather than the real need of understanding and repenting of sin in order to be forgiven, has taken a very low view of sin.
As a result of this type of preaching, "in the end, God is misrepresented as a loving grandfather rather than a holy Judge, and the listeners are given false expectations about the wonderful life Jesus has planned for them. Any new "converts" spend the rest of their Christian lives trying to meet their own felt needs and never really dealing with the sin in their lives -- choosing instead to ignore it or to redefine it as "honest mistakes" or "unhealed wounds." In contrast, the discerning Christian is all-too-familiar with his own sinfulness, having cried out for God's mercy and daily battling the flesh (Rom 7:13-8:4)." Page 190
"A right view of self. If you have a right view of your sin, you will naturally have a right view of yourself...Those who recognize their sinfulness before a holy God immediately realize how wretched and unimportant they really are." Page 190
This is why the Christian who understands who he is will in humility not think more highly of himself than he should and why the things he has accomplished in the past are worth nothing, and he can see them for what they truly are. They are nothing compared to knowing and serving Christ.
"For the Christian, self-esteem is replaced with self-denial...This attitude of self-denial is ultimately tied to the gospel, since we can do nothing, in and of ourselves, to earn salvation... In embracing Christ's work on our behalf, we abandon any form of self-sufficiency, choosing instead to thank God that He has chosen us -- the weak, the foolish, and the unimportant..." Page 190-191
"A right view of salvation. Having underestimated sin and having overestimated themselves, these same Christians fail to properly understand salvation. In some cases, they begin to view salvation as nothing more than heavenly fire insurance...as though God is obligated to save them without any repentance on their part. Others misunderstand grace, including cults like Roman Catholicism, where works-righteousness is added to God's free gift. Key concepts, such as justification and imputation (Christ takes our sin, and we take His righteousness) are sometimes misunderstood or redefined..There are even some, such as Seventh-Day Adventists, who claim Christ's atonement on the cross was not His final work of atonement -- despite verses such as Hebrews 7:27 and 1 Peter 3:18." Page 191
"So what is the biblical plan of salvation from sin? The apostle Paul succinctly answers this question in Romans 10:9-10 when he says, "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." It is also reiterated in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Page 191-192
"Thus, the call of salvation is a call to believe in the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, and to publicly submit ("confess") oneself to Him as Lord (thereby repenting from sin). Of course, this is a gift of grace and not of human effort or merit (Eph 2:8-10). And it also involved other theological truths -- such as regeneration (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5), election (Rom 8:28-30; Eph 1:4-11; 2 Thess 2:13), sanctification (Acts 20:32; 1 Cor 1:2, 30: 6:11; Heb 10:10, 14), and eternal security (John 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 5:9-10; 8:31-39). But the heart of the gospel is this: By dying on the cross, Jesus took the penalty for all who believe in Him. And by trusting in Him, the believer is seen as righteous (or justified) in the sight of God.
Thinking rightly about the gospel is something God takes very seriously. In fact, Scripture severely condemns those who preach another gospel as false teachers (Gal 1:8)...False gospels cannot be tolerated because eternity is at stake." Page 192
There are other areas of doctrine that are important to the individual Christian such as end times, the church, etc. But, the above points are absolutely essential.
"Because Christ and the apostles took a firm stand on these issues, we should be careful to do the same." Page 193
"When it comes to developing discernment, we cannot overstate the importance of a theological grid through which every message is filtered. Without sound doctrine, you will not be able to protect your own heart from the many doctrinal errors that exist today. But by looking to the Scripture (as your ultimate authority) for a right view of God and a right view of the gospel, you can safeguard your mind -- "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor 10:5)" Pages 193-194
In order for the man or woman of God to be able to discern properly, he or she is going to have to take a high view of God's Word, God's Person and salvation and the gospel. Dan Dumas says that these three comprise the biblical framework for determining what hills Christians should die on.
He says, "Because these three theological categories are of primary importance, believers should be careful to evaluate every ministry and every message they encounter through this doctrinal grid. Where you go to church, what books you buy, how you respond to the sermons you hear, and with whom you associate and minister -- each of these should be primarily evaluated on this basis." Pages 181-182
A High View of God's Word -- For the Christian, the Word of God is life. Not only does it give life, but it sustains it as well. A "Christian" who does not hunger and thirst for the Word of God is like a baby who never cries for its bottle.
"God's Word to the Christian should be like bread to the hungry man (Matt. 4:4) or like water to the thirsty deer (Ps. 42:1). By keeping its commands, we keep ourselves pure (Ps. 119:9). By following its guidance, we have a light for our paths (Ps. 119:105). By meditating on it, we find blessing and joy (Ps. 1:1-2). And by wrestling with it, we find our own lives being changed and sanctified (Heb. 4:12). It is our perfect guide and our ultimate authority (Ps. 19:7-11) -- because it is the very Word of God." Page 182
"Churches, sermons, books, and articles may claim to be Christian. But if they undermine or contradict God's Word in any way, you can be certain they don't meet God's approval. Sometimes these errors take away from what God has taught...Other times they try to add to what God has taught (for example, cult groups who place the teachings of their leaders on the same level as the Bible). But in either case, the Scripture itself responds with strong condemnation. Consider Christ's final warning in the book of Revelation (the book that completed the New Testament canon):
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (22:18-19).
Without question, maintaining a high view of Scripture is a hill that every Christian should die on. If God's Word is undermined, such that God Himself is no longer given the final say, then the door is opened to all kinds of error. A high view of Scripture is absolutely indispensable to the discerning Christian, and this high view must uphold at least three elements." Pages 183
"The authenticity of Scripture. First, a proper view of Scripture necessitates a full understanding and acknowledgement of the Bible's authenticity -- namely, that the Bible is indeed the inspired Word of God." Pages 183-184
True wisdom is only found in the Word of God. I have been driving home the point in previous posts that the Word of God is the sole authority of truth. It is absolute truth.
"So unless we acknowledge that the Bible is indeed His Word, we forfeit all possibility of learning discernment." (Page 184)
In other words, when someone starts to say, "Well, I believe this part of the Bible but not that part," or, "I believe the Bible says this, but it means this," then we can have no hope of understanding clearly what is right and what is wrong.
"The accuracy of Scripture. ...If the Bible is God's inspired Word in every part (meaning that He is the author), then it must also be truthful in every part (including passages regarding science and history) because He is a God of truth." Page 184
"This means that Genesis should be believed when it states that the world was created in seven days. It means that Adam should be accepted as a real human being, that the Flood was a global event, that Sodom and Gomorrah were literally destroyed by fire from heaven and that Jonah was, in fact, in the belly of a fish for three days....It is not enough to accept the Scriptures as true in matters of faith and practice but deny its truthfulness in matters of history and science. If the God of truth has spoken (no matter the subject), then He has spoken truthfully.
Too often Christians accept false teachings because they trust the latest scientific or literary theories over the very Word of God. In doing so, believers relinquish their ability to discern truth from error. Why? The reason is simple: It's because they have let go of the truth, without which they have no standard for deciphering what's wrong from what's right." Page 185
"The authority of Scripture. A high view of Scripture also demands submission to its absolute authority. Because the Bible comes from God Himself, and because it reflects His perfect truthfulness, it also bears His authority as the final say in our thoughts, our words, and our actions. Because we submit to Him, we likewise submit to His Word, through the power of His Spirit (John 14:15)." Page 185
Dan goes on to say that because we have the ultimate authority of God in His Word we don't need to supplement the Bible with anything -- not human philosophy nor business principles to learn successful church growth. God has given us everything we need to live the Christian life successfully.
Accurately understanding who God is comes from the study of His Word where we find His revelation of Himself to us. What exactly about God do we need to have an accurate understanding?
"A biblical view of the Sovereign. God's greatness quickly emerges from the pages of Scripture as one of His primary characteristics....Yet despite God's majestic self-portrait, many Christians today are trying to minimize His greatness and His glory. In some circles, His sovereign power is denied...In other circles it seems Satan and demons are feared more than God Himself (as in some charismatic contexts). But the Lord whom we serve is not like us. He made the sun, moon and stars...We are not at liberty to mold Him into our image." Pages 186-187
"In discerning truth from error, we must ask ourselves, "Does a particular teaching accurately depict the God of the Bible? Does it correctly represent His character, essence, and being?" Refuse to accept any teaching where the answer is other than "yes."" Page 187
"A biblical view of the Savior. God's greatness and majesty is not only seen in His sovereign power, but also in His mercy and grace. In fact, it was because of the Father's great love for us that He sent His Son to die for our sins. (John 3:16).
As God in human flesh (John 1:1, 14; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20), Jesus Christ lived a perfect life before sacrificing Himself on the cross. As the spotless lamb (1 Peter 1:19) and once-for-all sacrifice (Heb. 10:12), He not only paid the price for our sins but also clothes us in His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). As the risen Lord (1 Cor. 15:1-8), He sits enthroned at the right hand of God the Father (Acts 7:56), waiting for the day when He will return to earth to set up His kingdom (2 Thess. 1:7-10; Reve. 20:1-6). In the meantime, all who trust Him as their Savior and choose to follow Him as Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:9-10)." Page 187
Many, like the Jehovah's Witnesses deny Christ's deity as well as the doctrine of the Trinity altogether.
"Others are more subtle, agreeing that Christians must accept Jesus as Savior but not necessarily as Lord. Some even suggest that the resurrection was spurious or that the true Christ has been misrepresented by the church. But when compared to the clear testimony of Scripture, all such accusations fall flat. And that's why a biblical view of the Savior is so important for those who seek discernment." (Page 188)
Note: Just this morning I was reading a certain author's commentary on 1 John. It was clear that he, too, believed that you could be saved without Jesus being Lord. Those articles are now filed where they belong -- in the garbage. But, if I didn't have clear discernment on understanding who Christ is, I would not have caught that error and would have continued to live in confusion when reading the Bible.
"A biblical view of the Spirit. Before Jesus left, He promised that He would send a Helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide Christians throughout the church age (John 14:26) -- a promise that was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:2-8)." Page 188
"The Bible clearly distinguishes the Spirit as a separate Person (John 14:26; Rom 8:11, 16, 26; 1 John 5:7) who is equal with the Father and the Son (Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 3:16-18; 13:14; Eph 4:4-6). His ministry is one of teaching (John 14:26; Luke 12:12), interceding (Rom 8:26), leading (Matt 4:1), giving life (John 6:63), filling (Eph 5:18), and sanctifying (Gal 5:16-22). As believers study God's Word, the Spirit aids us in the process (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:14). In fact, Ephesians 6:17 tells us that "the sword of the Spirit," the weapon He uses to help us fend off deception, is the Word of God. It's no wonder, then, that to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18) is parallel to "let[ting] the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Col. 3:16)." Page 188
"Confusion about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is almost as old as the church itself...Needless to say, the unbiblical practices of some charismatic groups (such as slaying in the Spirit, laughing in the Spirit, barking in the Spirit, and so on) have only increased the confusion." Pages 188-189
"But the discerning Christian is spiritually unaffected by heretical trends like these. He is like a tree, firmly planted (Ps 1:3) because His view of God (including the Father, the Son, and the Spirit) is firmly founded in the truths of Scripture. By letting God's self-portrait inform his own thinking, the discerning Christian compares what he hears with what he knows to be correct. In other words, he refuses to replace a high view of God (one that is biblically accurate) with any type of cheap substitute." Page 189
A discerning Christian must also have a high view of the Gospel. We must clearly understand the answer to the question: "What must I do to be saved?" This question is literally a question of life and death.
"Sadly, many Christians downplay key aspects of the gospel message...As a result, false professions of faith are commonplace in the contemporary church, where belief is redefined as mere assent, and repentance is missed altogether. But discerning Christians are not impressed with watered-down gospel presentations, nor are they fooled by the false promises of prosperity preachers. Instead they have a clear grasp of the gospel, always being ready to give an account for the hope that is in them (1 Pet 3:15)." Page 189
"A right view of sin. The good news of Scripture actually begins with bad news -- namely, that all men are sinners before a holy God (Rom 3:23), unable to save themselves (Isa 64:6) and therefore worthy of His condemnation (Rom 6:23). Because Adam and Eve broke God's law (Gen 3:6-7), and because all of their descendants (with the exception of Jesus Christ) have also broken His law (Jas 2:10), human beings deserve to be punished. As a perfect Judge, God's judgment for sin is death -- both physical (Gen 3:3) and spiritual (Rom 5:12-19). Scripture teaches that men and women are not only sinners through their actions (1 John 1:8, 10), but also because they inherited a sin nature from Adam and Eve (Ps 51:5; Rom 5:12-19)." Pages 189-190
A church that focuses on the felt needs of the congregation rather than the real need of understanding and repenting of sin in order to be forgiven, has taken a very low view of sin.
As a result of this type of preaching, "in the end, God is misrepresented as a loving grandfather rather than a holy Judge, and the listeners are given false expectations about the wonderful life Jesus has planned for them. Any new "converts" spend the rest of their Christian lives trying to meet their own felt needs and never really dealing with the sin in their lives -- choosing instead to ignore it or to redefine it as "honest mistakes" or "unhealed wounds." In contrast, the discerning Christian is all-too-familiar with his own sinfulness, having cried out for God's mercy and daily battling the flesh (Rom 7:13-8:4)." Page 190
"A right view of self. If you have a right view of your sin, you will naturally have a right view of yourself...Those who recognize their sinfulness before a holy God immediately realize how wretched and unimportant they really are." Page 190
This is why the Christian who understands who he is will in humility not think more highly of himself than he should and why the things he has accomplished in the past are worth nothing, and he can see them for what they truly are. They are nothing compared to knowing and serving Christ.
"For the Christian, self-esteem is replaced with self-denial...This attitude of self-denial is ultimately tied to the gospel, since we can do nothing, in and of ourselves, to earn salvation... In embracing Christ's work on our behalf, we abandon any form of self-sufficiency, choosing instead to thank God that He has chosen us -- the weak, the foolish, and the unimportant..." Page 190-191
"A right view of salvation. Having underestimated sin and having overestimated themselves, these same Christians fail to properly understand salvation. In some cases, they begin to view salvation as nothing more than heavenly fire insurance...as though God is obligated to save them without any repentance on their part. Others misunderstand grace, including cults like Roman Catholicism, where works-righteousness is added to God's free gift. Key concepts, such as justification and imputation (Christ takes our sin, and we take His righteousness) are sometimes misunderstood or redefined..There are even some, such as Seventh-Day Adventists, who claim Christ's atonement on the cross was not His final work of atonement -- despite verses such as Hebrews 7:27 and 1 Peter 3:18." Page 191
"So what is the biblical plan of salvation from sin? The apostle Paul succinctly answers this question in Romans 10:9-10 when he says, "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." It is also reiterated in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Page 191-192
"Thus, the call of salvation is a call to believe in the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, and to publicly submit ("confess") oneself to Him as Lord (thereby repenting from sin). Of course, this is a gift of grace and not of human effort or merit (Eph 2:8-10). And it also involved other theological truths -- such as regeneration (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5), election (Rom 8:28-30; Eph 1:4-11; 2 Thess 2:13), sanctification (Acts 20:32; 1 Cor 1:2, 30: 6:11; Heb 10:10, 14), and eternal security (John 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 5:9-10; 8:31-39). But the heart of the gospel is this: By dying on the cross, Jesus took the penalty for all who believe in Him. And by trusting in Him, the believer is seen as righteous (or justified) in the sight of God.
Thinking rightly about the gospel is something God takes very seriously. In fact, Scripture severely condemns those who preach another gospel as false teachers (Gal 1:8)...False gospels cannot be tolerated because eternity is at stake." Page 192
There are other areas of doctrine that are important to the individual Christian such as end times, the church, etc. But, the above points are absolutely essential.
"Because Christ and the apostles took a firm stand on these issues, we should be careful to do the same." Page 193
"When it comes to developing discernment, we cannot overstate the importance of a theological grid through which every message is filtered. Without sound doctrine, you will not be able to protect your own heart from the many doctrinal errors that exist today. But by looking to the Scripture (as your ultimate authority) for a right view of God and a right view of the gospel, you can safeguard your mind -- "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor 10:5)" Pages 193-194
Monday, March 15, 2010
Discernment Needed -- False Teaching Part 2
Today I want to make some quotes from the book "Fool's Gold? Discerning Truth in an Age of Error" by John MacArthur and others. It's been some time since I've read this book, but it was a good reminder for me as I paged through it last evening.
"Nothing is more desperately needed in the church right now than a new movement to reemphasize the need for biblical discernment. Without such a movement, the true church is in serious trouble. If the current hunger for ecumenical compromise, pragmatic sanctification, and numerical success continues to gain a foothold within evangelicalism, it will result in unmitigated spiritual disaster." Introduction -- John MacArthur
"When churches or individual Christians lose their resolve to discern between sound doctrine and error, between good and evil, between truth and lies, they open themselves up to every kind of error. But those who apply biblical discernment consistently, in every area of life, are sure to walk in the wisdom of the Lord (Prov. 2:1-6)." Introduction -- John MacArthur
"The church will never manifest its power in society until we regain a passionate love for truth and a corollary hatred for error. True Christians cannot condone or disregard anti-Christian influences in their midst and expect to enjoy God's blessing. (Romans 13:11-12 and Philippians 1:9-11)" Introduction -- John MacArthur
"If we are going to be discerning people, we must develop the skill of discriminating between truth and error, good and bad. In the original language the Hebrew word for 'discernment' conveys the same idea as our word 'discrimination.' It entails the idea of making distinctions. In essence it means to separate things from one another at their points of difference in order to distinguish them." Page 22 -- John MacArthur
"Does Scripture tell us how to be discerning? It certainly does. Paul sums up the process in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22: "test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil." Page 22 -- JM
"Everything I read, for example, goes through a grid of discrimination in my mind. If you were to look through my library, you would instantly be able to identify which books I have read. The margins are marked. sometimes you'll see approving remarks and heavy underlining. Other times you'll find question marks -- or even red lines through the text. I constantly strive to separate truth from error. I read that way, I think that way, and of course I preach that way. My passion is to know the truth, and proclaim it with authority...Any church leader who does not feel the burden of this duty ought to step down from leadership." Page 23 -- JM
(Note: I can't even give my books away, because people don't want to read through all my notes! In fact, I can't even read a book if I don't have a pen handy -- I'll hold off until later.)
"The same careful discernment Paul demanded of pastors and elders is also the duty of every Christian." Page 23 -- JM
WHAT ABOUT THE PASSAGES THAT SAY, 'DO NOT JUDGE'?
"The spiritual discernment Paul calls for is different from the judgmental attitude Jesus forbade in Matthew 7:2-5. Obviously, what Jesus condemned was the hypocritical judgment of those who held others to a higher standard than they themselves were willing to live by. He was certainly not suggesting that all judgment is forbidden. In fact, Jesus indicated that taking a speck out of your brother's eye is the right thing to do -- if you first get the log out of your own eye. Elsewhere in Scripture we are forbidden to judge others' motives or attitudes. We are not able to discern "the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). That is a divine prerogative...What is forbidden is hypocritical judging and judging others' thoughts and motives. But other forms of judgment are explicitly commanded. Throughout Scripture the people of God are urged to judge between truth and error, right and wrong, good and evil. (John 7:24, 1 Corinthians 10:15). Clearly, God requires us to be discriminating when it comes to matters of sound doctrine." Page 25 -- JM
The Thessalonians were gullible and susceptible to believing everything, like little children who put everything into their mouths.
"Why were they so vulnerable to false teaching? Surely it was precisely because they lacked biblical discernment. The Thessalonians did not examine everything in light of God's Word. If they had, they would not have been so easily hoodwinked. And that is why Paul urged them, "Test everything." Page 27 -- JM
And the Thessalonians were at a disadvantage compared to us today. They didn't have all the resources that we have. For instance, they didn't even have the whole New Testament at that point in time. We certainly have no excuse!
Paul said that what was written in Scripture was and is authoritative, inspired truth. Part of the problem with the lack of discernment in the church today is when different religions will add their own "Tradition" to the Word of God and the leadership of those churches will point people to the "Tradition" instead of the Word of God. This "Tradition" often directly contradicts the Word of God. Anything added alongside Scripture and given equal authority is indicative of false religion.
Paul did speak about the traditions that were taught by them as apostles to the church. But they were apostolic traditions. They are connected with the Word of God itself. The "traditions" necessary for Christians to be discerning are recorded for all ages in the text of Scripture. This verse cannot be used to support the man-made "Traditions" of some religions today.
"With this in mind, 2 Thessalonians 2:15 cannot be used to support the claim that extrabiblical, spiritually binding "apostolic tradition" is passed down verbally through popes and bishops. Paul's whole point was that the Thessalonians should treat as authoritative only what they had heard from his own mouth or received from his own pen. That body of truth -- the Word of God -- was to be the measuring stick they used to examine all things...Therefore, Paul is affirming that the Bible is the only reliable criterion by which believers in this age can evaluate any message claiming to be truth from God." Page 28 -- JM
We're to hold fast to what is good and abhor what is evil. This speaks of jealously safeguarding the truth. It demands careful watchfulness; we're to guard the treasure of the gospel. The truth is given into our custody, and we are charged, as Christians, with guarding it against EVERY POSSIBLE THREAT.
"This describes a militant, defensive, protective stance against anything that undermines the truth or does violence to it in any way. We must hold the truth securely, defend it zealously, preserve it from all threats. To placate the enemies of truth or lower our guard is to violate this command...'Hold fast' also carried the idea of embracing something. It goes beyond bare assent to "that which is good" and speaks of loving the truth wholeheartedly. Those who are truly discerning are passionately committed to sound doctrine, to truth, and to all that is inpsired by God...Every true Christian has this quality to some degree. All true believers hold fast to the gospel." Page 29 -- JM
"The attitude this calls for is incompatible with the suggestion that we should lay doctrine aside for the sake of unity. It cannot be reconciled with the opinion that hard truths should be downplayed to make God's Word more palatable for unbelievers. It is contrary to the notion that personal experience takes precedence over objective truth. God has given us His truth objectively in His Word. It is a treasure that we should protect at all costs." Page 30 -- JM
There are self-proclaimed "prophets" and preachers out there today who need to be put into the light of this intense scrutiny of the Word of God.
"Experience and feelings -- no matter how powerful -- do not determine what is true. Rather, those things themselves must be subjected to the test..."That which is good does not refer to that which is entertaining. It does not refer to that which garners accolades from the world. It does not refer to that which is satisfying to the flesh. It refers to that which is good, true, accurate, authentic, dependable -- that which is in agreement with the infallible Word of God. When you find such truth, embrace it and guard it like a treasure." Pages 30-31 -- JM
We are to abstain from every form of evil (1 Thess. 5:22) which means to hold oneself back, keep away from, shun.
"In this context, the primary reference seems to be evil teaching -- false doctrine. Having examined everything in light of God's Word, when you identify something that does not measure up -- something that is evil, untrue, erroneous, or contrary to sound doctrine, shun it...Scripture DOES NOT GIVE BELIEVERS PERMISSION TO EXPOSE THEMSELVES TO EVIL." Page 31 -- JM Emphasis mine.
"We are to reject evil however it appears, to shun every manifestation of it. This explicitly rules out syncretism. Syncretism is the practice of blending ideas from different religions and philosophies...The only proper response to false teaching is to shun it. Erroneous doctrine is no place to look for truth. There is usually some point of truth even in rank heresy. But it is truth out of balance, corrupted truth, truth mixed with lies and therefore rendered dangerous. Shun it." Page 32 -- JM
"Satan is subtle. He often sabotages the truth by mixing it with error. Truth mixed with error is usually far more effective and far more destructive than a straightforward contradiction of the truth. If you think everything you read or hear on Christian radio and television is reliable teaching, then you are a prime target for doctrinal deception. If you think everyeone who appears to love the truth really does, then you don't understand the wiles of Satan. 'Satan disguises himself as an angel of light,' Paul wrote. 'So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Pg. 33 -- JM
"Satan also disguises his lies as truth. He doesn't always wage war openly against the gospel. He is much more likely to attack the church by infiltrating with subtle error. He uses the Trojan horse strategem by placing his false teachers in the church, where they can "secretly bring in destructive heresies" (2 Peter 2:1). He puts his lies in the mouth of someone who claims to speak for Jesus Christ -- someone likable and appealing; then he spreads his perverse lies in the church where they can draw away Christ's disciples (Acts 20:30). He attaches Bible verses to his lies (Matthew 4:6). He uses deception and hypocrisy. He disguises falsehood as truth. He loves syncretism. It makes evil look good....That's why we are to examine everything carefully and shun whatever is unsound, corrupt, or erroneous. It is deadly. Millions in the church today are being overwhelmed by the Trojan-horse ploy calling for the integration of secular ideas with biblical truth. Others are easily duped by anything labeled Christian. They don't examine everything. They don't hold fast to the truth. And they won't shun evil. They are left vulnerable to false doctrine and have no defense against theological confusion." Page 33 -- JM
"Doctrinal error is all around us. Often it looks very good -- that's why so many fall prey to its deception. And that is also why God gave us His Word, so that we would have a measuring stick by which to examine every spiritual or theological message we encounter." Page 33 -- JM
The goal of exposing error in the name of true religion today is not to be unloving, but to guard the treasure that has been entrusted to us.
"In fact, Scripture makes it clear that this type of examination is inherently loving, as God's people are called to think biblically and exercise discernment. To do anything less will only result in spiritual anemia (Hosea 4:6)." Page 34 -- JM
"Nothing is more desperately needed in the church right now than a new movement to reemphasize the need for biblical discernment. Without such a movement, the true church is in serious trouble. If the current hunger for ecumenical compromise, pragmatic sanctification, and numerical success continues to gain a foothold within evangelicalism, it will result in unmitigated spiritual disaster." Introduction -- John MacArthur
"When churches or individual Christians lose their resolve to discern between sound doctrine and error, between good and evil, between truth and lies, they open themselves up to every kind of error. But those who apply biblical discernment consistently, in every area of life, are sure to walk in the wisdom of the Lord (Prov. 2:1-6)." Introduction -- John MacArthur
"The church will never manifest its power in society until we regain a passionate love for truth and a corollary hatred for error. True Christians cannot condone or disregard anti-Christian influences in their midst and expect to enjoy God's blessing. (Romans 13:11-12 and Philippians 1:9-11)" Introduction -- John MacArthur
"If we are going to be discerning people, we must develop the skill of discriminating between truth and error, good and bad. In the original language the Hebrew word for 'discernment' conveys the same idea as our word 'discrimination.' It entails the idea of making distinctions. In essence it means to separate things from one another at their points of difference in order to distinguish them." Page 22 -- John MacArthur
"Does Scripture tell us how to be discerning? It certainly does. Paul sums up the process in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22: "test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil." Page 22 -- JM
"Everything I read, for example, goes through a grid of discrimination in my mind. If you were to look through my library, you would instantly be able to identify which books I have read. The margins are marked. sometimes you'll see approving remarks and heavy underlining. Other times you'll find question marks -- or even red lines through the text. I constantly strive to separate truth from error. I read that way, I think that way, and of course I preach that way. My passion is to know the truth, and proclaim it with authority...Any church leader who does not feel the burden of this duty ought to step down from leadership." Page 23 -- JM
(Note: I can't even give my books away, because people don't want to read through all my notes! In fact, I can't even read a book if I don't have a pen handy -- I'll hold off until later.)
"The same careful discernment Paul demanded of pastors and elders is also the duty of every Christian." Page 23 -- JM
WHAT ABOUT THE PASSAGES THAT SAY, 'DO NOT JUDGE'?
"The spiritual discernment Paul calls for is different from the judgmental attitude Jesus forbade in Matthew 7:2-5. Obviously, what Jesus condemned was the hypocritical judgment of those who held others to a higher standard than they themselves were willing to live by. He was certainly not suggesting that all judgment is forbidden. In fact, Jesus indicated that taking a speck out of your brother's eye is the right thing to do -- if you first get the log out of your own eye. Elsewhere in Scripture we are forbidden to judge others' motives or attitudes. We are not able to discern "the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). That is a divine prerogative...What is forbidden is hypocritical judging and judging others' thoughts and motives. But other forms of judgment are explicitly commanded. Throughout Scripture the people of God are urged to judge between truth and error, right and wrong, good and evil. (John 7:24, 1 Corinthians 10:15). Clearly, God requires us to be discriminating when it comes to matters of sound doctrine." Page 25 -- JM
The Thessalonians were gullible and susceptible to believing everything, like little children who put everything into their mouths.
"Why were they so vulnerable to false teaching? Surely it was precisely because they lacked biblical discernment. The Thessalonians did not examine everything in light of God's Word. If they had, they would not have been so easily hoodwinked. And that is why Paul urged them, "Test everything." Page 27 -- JM
And the Thessalonians were at a disadvantage compared to us today. They didn't have all the resources that we have. For instance, they didn't even have the whole New Testament at that point in time. We certainly have no excuse!
Paul said that what was written in Scripture was and is authoritative, inspired truth. Part of the problem with the lack of discernment in the church today is when different religions will add their own "Tradition" to the Word of God and the leadership of those churches will point people to the "Tradition" instead of the Word of God. This "Tradition" often directly contradicts the Word of God. Anything added alongside Scripture and given equal authority is indicative of false religion.
Paul did speak about the traditions that were taught by them as apostles to the church. But they were apostolic traditions. They are connected with the Word of God itself. The "traditions" necessary for Christians to be discerning are recorded for all ages in the text of Scripture. This verse cannot be used to support the man-made "Traditions" of some religions today.
"With this in mind, 2 Thessalonians 2:15 cannot be used to support the claim that extrabiblical, spiritually binding "apostolic tradition" is passed down verbally through popes and bishops. Paul's whole point was that the Thessalonians should treat as authoritative only what they had heard from his own mouth or received from his own pen. That body of truth -- the Word of God -- was to be the measuring stick they used to examine all things...Therefore, Paul is affirming that the Bible is the only reliable criterion by which believers in this age can evaluate any message claiming to be truth from God." Page 28 -- JM
We're to hold fast to what is good and abhor what is evil. This speaks of jealously safeguarding the truth. It demands careful watchfulness; we're to guard the treasure of the gospel. The truth is given into our custody, and we are charged, as Christians, with guarding it against EVERY POSSIBLE THREAT.
"This describes a militant, defensive, protective stance against anything that undermines the truth or does violence to it in any way. We must hold the truth securely, defend it zealously, preserve it from all threats. To placate the enemies of truth or lower our guard is to violate this command...'Hold fast' also carried the idea of embracing something. It goes beyond bare assent to "that which is good" and speaks of loving the truth wholeheartedly. Those who are truly discerning are passionately committed to sound doctrine, to truth, and to all that is inpsired by God...Every true Christian has this quality to some degree. All true believers hold fast to the gospel." Page 29 -- JM
"The attitude this calls for is incompatible with the suggestion that we should lay doctrine aside for the sake of unity. It cannot be reconciled with the opinion that hard truths should be downplayed to make God's Word more palatable for unbelievers. It is contrary to the notion that personal experience takes precedence over objective truth. God has given us His truth objectively in His Word. It is a treasure that we should protect at all costs." Page 30 -- JM
There are self-proclaimed "prophets" and preachers out there today who need to be put into the light of this intense scrutiny of the Word of God.
"Experience and feelings -- no matter how powerful -- do not determine what is true. Rather, those things themselves must be subjected to the test..."That which is good does not refer to that which is entertaining. It does not refer to that which garners accolades from the world. It does not refer to that which is satisfying to the flesh. It refers to that which is good, true, accurate, authentic, dependable -- that which is in agreement with the infallible Word of God. When you find such truth, embrace it and guard it like a treasure." Pages 30-31 -- JM
We are to abstain from every form of evil (1 Thess. 5:22) which means to hold oneself back, keep away from, shun.
"In this context, the primary reference seems to be evil teaching -- false doctrine. Having examined everything in light of God's Word, when you identify something that does not measure up -- something that is evil, untrue, erroneous, or contrary to sound doctrine, shun it...Scripture DOES NOT GIVE BELIEVERS PERMISSION TO EXPOSE THEMSELVES TO EVIL." Page 31 -- JM Emphasis mine.
"We are to reject evil however it appears, to shun every manifestation of it. This explicitly rules out syncretism. Syncretism is the practice of blending ideas from different religions and philosophies...The only proper response to false teaching is to shun it. Erroneous doctrine is no place to look for truth. There is usually some point of truth even in rank heresy. But it is truth out of balance, corrupted truth, truth mixed with lies and therefore rendered dangerous. Shun it." Page 32 -- JM
"Satan is subtle. He often sabotages the truth by mixing it with error. Truth mixed with error is usually far more effective and far more destructive than a straightforward contradiction of the truth. If you think everything you read or hear on Christian radio and television is reliable teaching, then you are a prime target for doctrinal deception. If you think everyeone who appears to love the truth really does, then you don't understand the wiles of Satan. 'Satan disguises himself as an angel of light,' Paul wrote. 'So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Pg. 33 -- JM
"Satan also disguises his lies as truth. He doesn't always wage war openly against the gospel. He is much more likely to attack the church by infiltrating with subtle error. He uses the Trojan horse strategem by placing his false teachers in the church, where they can "secretly bring in destructive heresies" (2 Peter 2:1). He puts his lies in the mouth of someone who claims to speak for Jesus Christ -- someone likable and appealing; then he spreads his perverse lies in the church where they can draw away Christ's disciples (Acts 20:30). He attaches Bible verses to his lies (Matthew 4:6). He uses deception and hypocrisy. He disguises falsehood as truth. He loves syncretism. It makes evil look good....That's why we are to examine everything carefully and shun whatever is unsound, corrupt, or erroneous. It is deadly. Millions in the church today are being overwhelmed by the Trojan-horse ploy calling for the integration of secular ideas with biblical truth. Others are easily duped by anything labeled Christian. They don't examine everything. They don't hold fast to the truth. And they won't shun evil. They are left vulnerable to false doctrine and have no defense against theological confusion." Page 33 -- JM
"Doctrinal error is all around us. Often it looks very good -- that's why so many fall prey to its deception. And that is also why God gave us His Word, so that we would have a measuring stick by which to examine every spiritual or theological message we encounter." Page 33 -- JM
The goal of exposing error in the name of true religion today is not to be unloving, but to guard the treasure that has been entrusted to us.
"In fact, Scripture makes it clear that this type of examination is inherently loving, as God's people are called to think biblically and exercise discernment. To do anything less will only result in spiritual anemia (Hosea 4:6)." Page 34 -- JM
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