Recovering the Gospel: The Crucial Need for the Church
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the
2nd Annual Stone Mountain
Conference on Reformed Theology
Borrowing on the theme of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, I invite you to join us at Grace Presbyterian Church, 650 Rowland Road in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The dates for the conference are Friday, July 27 through Saturday, July 28.
The Speakers will be: Pastor Roberts Benson, of Southwest Christian Fellowship in Atlanta, Georgia, Rev. Anthony Carter, Associate Pastor of Southwest Christian Fellowship and author of "On Being Black and Reformed", Pastor Roger Skepple, of Berean Bible Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia and
Pastor Michael Leach, of All Saints Redeemer Church in Decatur, Georgia.
The theme for this year's conference is: Recovering the Gospel: The Crucial Need for the Church. There are many "gospels" being preached today; but the glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is largely neglected. These thoroughly Biblical expositors will demonstrate to you that no gospel but the Gospel of Jesus Christ will lead His church into the only kind of worship He is seeking . . . worship in spirit and truth. It is only this gospel that will draw men to the Savior.
Please join us for this important conference. For further information and directions please contact Pastor Leach at (678)849-0048. You can also e-mail yours truly at
sound-doctrine@myway.com
Be there, or be Arminian!
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
The Subtle Sinfulness of Silence
I knew when I began publishing this blog that my comments about heretical teachers, aberrant theologies, etc. would ruffle a lot of feathers. I expected to encounter fierce opposition and that many would be offended by what I have to say. I can honestly state, however, that it is not my intention to offend. It is my hope that someone, somewhere is given pause to think about what their being taught and then to move in a God-honoring direction. One of the unfortunate side-effects of "truth" is frequently "offense".
Of greater concern to me, is the prospect of having to stand before God one day and having to explain why I was silent. Having to explain why I said nothing when I observed some of those very near and dear to me walking toward a cliff. I firmly believe that my salvation is a done deal and that my sinful silence would be forgiven; but let's just say that I want to be able to cast as many crowns before the feet of my Savior as is possible.
That said, I would like for you to consider a few scenarios and honestly answer for yourself . . . what would you do?
Imagine, your mother needs serious medical treatment. She selects a physician whom you know to have been misdiagnosing illnesses, prescribing improper medications and has been successfully sued for malpractice multiple times. Would you warn your mother? She really likes this doctor. She really trusts this doctor. What would you do?
Imagine, your brother receives a large sum of money and decides to invest in the stock market. Your brother chooses a stockbroker whom you know to be entirely disreputable. He charges exorbitant fees for his services, all his clients have lost large sums of money while he continually prospers greatly. Would you warn your brother?
Imagine, your sister falls in love with the man of her dreams. They become engaged and begin to plan their wedding. One night, your staying at a hotel and you hear the unmistakable sounds of a loud sexual encounter going on in the room next to you. When you leave the next morning, you observe your sister's fiance exiting that same room with another woman (or man, you pick). He looks at you winks and says, "C'mon, dog, you know the deal"! Would you tell your sister?
I'm not the "Amazing Kreskin", but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that in each of the scenarios, you would be singing like a canary. So why is that where health, money and romance is concerned we feel duty bound to reveal the truth; but where the more eternally consequential effects of false teaching are concerned, we suddenly clam up? Why are we not concerned about being perceived as judgmental, arrogant and holier-than-thou in those scenarios; but just want to live and let live when a person's walk with Christ is endangered?
I recently received a couple of answers to this sort of question. One person said that they would pray for the person and wait for God to reveal to them that their place of worship was apostate. Then they hoped that the person would see it for themselves and leave. Let's apply this solution to the scenarios that I have just presented. Praying is absolutely necessary and should be the first step; but are you going to tell me that as your mother is being prepped for surgery by Dr. Hamhands, all you are going to do is pray?! Please don't tell your brother that you prayed for him as he cashes in his son's college fund to pay his mortgage because Dewey, Cheatum and Howe landed him in the poor house! And after your sister contracts AIDS from her philandering husband, I'd keep that "I prayed you would find out" stuff on the down-low!
As bad as these results are, the result of failing to speak up to our brothers and sisters who are under the thrall of false teaching and counterfeit christianity is far more detrimental. A false teacher, by definition, teaches falsehood and a house built on the sands of falsehood will surely collapse. And unfortunately, no one who has been ensnared by these lies can point their finger at the teacher on the day of judgment. They failed to study to show themselves approved and they will reap what they have sown. But you said nothing.
It was also suggested that since the person is "saved" it doesn't matter that he is under false teaching because he's going to Heaven anyway. My response to this is always, "are you sure"? I mean you have to be omniscient (God) to rest in this assumption. It was further suggested that, if a person walks down the isle and has the Gospel explained to him and he receives Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, then he is "saved". My answer to this is, "possibly". It depends on which Jesus he "received". If he received the Jesus of the prosperity gospel, or the Jesus who according to Creflo Dollar was not God is he really "saved"? These are false Jesuses and a false Jesus cannot save, truly. If, however, they somehow trust in the Biblical Jesus Christ (how that is possible in places that barely mention Him is truly a miracle) they are now obliged to forsake false teaching! A "profession" doesn't save anyone. A life of obedience and trust in the person and work of the Biblical Jesus Christ is evidence of our salvation. To paraphrase "Forrest Gump": "saved is as saved does" (see James 2:14-26).
In my humble opinion, there are four main reasons why a person who knows better would remain silent in the face of a loved one's peril.
1. Fear of losing friends/relations.
You might remember the old cliche': "If you love something set it free. If it comes back, then it's yours. If it doesn't come back, then it never was". As mushy as it sounds, I believe that it is true. If you are not allowed to openly express your heart and concerns to someone whom you call "friend", I suspect the term "friend" has been misapplied in this particular arrangement. It is said that "friendship is essential to the soul". Can it be denied that trust is essential to friendship?
The stance I have taken has caused major arguments with members of my family; it has even loosened bonds with those who once pledged that nothing could ever do so. I would like to think that if the situation was reversed they would love me enough to warn me, regardless of my reaction. The Word of God says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12). I can sleep well at night knowing that I have.
If someday I am shown to have been wrong about the deeds I have charged any of these teachers with, I will be the first to repent and apologize. If the future proves me to be correct, my door will always stand open to them.
2. Fear of confrontation.
Going along just to get along. I don't have a lot of sympathy for this situation. Let's just say I'm happy that Martin Luther King didn't suffer with this problem. I'm glad Muhammad Ali didn't have this problem. I'm really glad Jesus didn't have this problem.
Jude urges us to "contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Paul instructs us to ". . . rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to . . . the commands of people who turn away from the truth" (Titus 1:13-14).Peter warns us to ". . .take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose you own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:17-18).
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7). Go grow a backbone!
3. Individualism.
We as the body of Christ have lost our understanding of community, the communion of the saints. An "I've got mine, you better go get yours" mentality pervades. We are saved individually, but we are ingrafted into a shared vine. We are our brother's keeper. Paul vividly illustrated that we all are to function together and if one of us is damaged, we all are damaged (I Corinthians 12:12-26).
4. Lack of love.
Oh, I can hear the jaws tightening already. "Who are you to suggest that I don't love my family/friends"! Hold on there, Tex! Don't get your drawers in a wad! As shown in the previous scenarios, "Love" compels us to act in the best interest of those we love. Love compels us to protect those we love. Love sacrifices it own comfort for the sake of others. Love weathers the misunderstandings and anger directed at it. If your "love" is lacking these qualities, maybe your heavy on emotional love and a little light on volitional love, agape love.
"Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful". Proverbs 27:6
---------------
Is this silence sin? Here's the bottom line, the Word of God states that to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17). We really have no excuse for our silence. Are we going to repeat Adam's folly in the Garden of Eden? Are we just going to stand there knowing the commands of God and say nothing while the serpent seduces our friends and family? That's how we all got into this mess in the first place!
"Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand." Ezekiel 33:2-6
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!
I knew when I began publishing this blog that my comments about heretical teachers, aberrant theologies, etc. would ruffle a lot of feathers. I expected to encounter fierce opposition and that many would be offended by what I have to say. I can honestly state, however, that it is not my intention to offend. It is my hope that someone, somewhere is given pause to think about what their being taught and then to move in a God-honoring direction. One of the unfortunate side-effects of "truth" is frequently "offense".
Of greater concern to me, is the prospect of having to stand before God one day and having to explain why I was silent. Having to explain why I said nothing when I observed some of those very near and dear to me walking toward a cliff. I firmly believe that my salvation is a done deal and that my sinful silence would be forgiven; but let's just say that I want to be able to cast as many crowns before the feet of my Savior as is possible.
That said, I would like for you to consider a few scenarios and honestly answer for yourself . . . what would you do?
Imagine, your mother needs serious medical treatment. She selects a physician whom you know to have been misdiagnosing illnesses, prescribing improper medications and has been successfully sued for malpractice multiple times. Would you warn your mother? She really likes this doctor. She really trusts this doctor. What would you do?
Imagine, your brother receives a large sum of money and decides to invest in the stock market. Your brother chooses a stockbroker whom you know to be entirely disreputable. He charges exorbitant fees for his services, all his clients have lost large sums of money while he continually prospers greatly. Would you warn your brother?
Imagine, your sister falls in love with the man of her dreams. They become engaged and begin to plan their wedding. One night, your staying at a hotel and you hear the unmistakable sounds of a loud sexual encounter going on in the room next to you. When you leave the next morning, you observe your sister's fiance exiting that same room with another woman (or man, you pick). He looks at you winks and says, "C'mon, dog, you know the deal"! Would you tell your sister?
I'm not the "Amazing Kreskin", but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that in each of the scenarios, you would be singing like a canary. So why is that where health, money and romance is concerned we feel duty bound to reveal the truth; but where the more eternally consequential effects of false teaching are concerned, we suddenly clam up? Why are we not concerned about being perceived as judgmental, arrogant and holier-than-thou in those scenarios; but just want to live and let live when a person's walk with Christ is endangered?
I recently received a couple of answers to this sort of question. One person said that they would pray for the person and wait for God to reveal to them that their place of worship was apostate. Then they hoped that the person would see it for themselves and leave. Let's apply this solution to the scenarios that I have just presented. Praying is absolutely necessary and should be the first step; but are you going to tell me that as your mother is being prepped for surgery by Dr. Hamhands, all you are going to do is pray?! Please don't tell your brother that you prayed for him as he cashes in his son's college fund to pay his mortgage because Dewey, Cheatum and Howe landed him in the poor house! And after your sister contracts AIDS from her philandering husband, I'd keep that "I prayed you would find out" stuff on the down-low!
As bad as these results are, the result of failing to speak up to our brothers and sisters who are under the thrall of false teaching and counterfeit christianity is far more detrimental. A false teacher, by definition, teaches falsehood and a house built on the sands of falsehood will surely collapse. And unfortunately, no one who has been ensnared by these lies can point their finger at the teacher on the day of judgment. They failed to study to show themselves approved and they will reap what they have sown. But you said nothing.
It was also suggested that since the person is "saved" it doesn't matter that he is under false teaching because he's going to Heaven anyway. My response to this is always, "are you sure"? I mean you have to be omniscient (God) to rest in this assumption. It was further suggested that, if a person walks down the isle and has the Gospel explained to him and he receives Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, then he is "saved". My answer to this is, "possibly". It depends on which Jesus he "received". If he received the Jesus of the prosperity gospel, or the Jesus who according to Creflo Dollar was not God is he really "saved"? These are false Jesuses and a false Jesus cannot save, truly. If, however, they somehow trust in the Biblical Jesus Christ (how that is possible in places that barely mention Him is truly a miracle) they are now obliged to forsake false teaching! A "profession" doesn't save anyone. A life of obedience and trust in the person and work of the Biblical Jesus Christ is evidence of our salvation. To paraphrase "Forrest Gump": "saved is as saved does" (see James 2:14-26).
In my humble opinion, there are four main reasons why a person who knows better would remain silent in the face of a loved one's peril.
1. Fear of losing friends/relations.
You might remember the old cliche': "If you love something set it free. If it comes back, then it's yours. If it doesn't come back, then it never was". As mushy as it sounds, I believe that it is true. If you are not allowed to openly express your heart and concerns to someone whom you call "friend", I suspect the term "friend" has been misapplied in this particular arrangement. It is said that "friendship is essential to the soul". Can it be denied that trust is essential to friendship?
The stance I have taken has caused major arguments with members of my family; it has even loosened bonds with those who once pledged that nothing could ever do so. I would like to think that if the situation was reversed they would love me enough to warn me, regardless of my reaction. The Word of God says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12). I can sleep well at night knowing that I have.
If someday I am shown to have been wrong about the deeds I have charged any of these teachers with, I will be the first to repent and apologize. If the future proves me to be correct, my door will always stand open to them.
2. Fear of confrontation.
Going along just to get along. I don't have a lot of sympathy for this situation. Let's just say I'm happy that Martin Luther King didn't suffer with this problem. I'm glad Muhammad Ali didn't have this problem. I'm really glad Jesus didn't have this problem.
Jude urges us to "contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Paul instructs us to ". . . rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to . . . the commands of people who turn away from the truth" (Titus 1:13-14).Peter warns us to ". . .take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose you own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:17-18).
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7). Go grow a backbone!
3. Individualism.
We as the body of Christ have lost our understanding of community, the communion of the saints. An "I've got mine, you better go get yours" mentality pervades. We are saved individually, but we are ingrafted into a shared vine. We are our brother's keeper. Paul vividly illustrated that we all are to function together and if one of us is damaged, we all are damaged (I Corinthians 12:12-26).
4. Lack of love.
Oh, I can hear the jaws tightening already. "Who are you to suggest that I don't love my family/friends"! Hold on there, Tex! Don't get your drawers in a wad! As shown in the previous scenarios, "Love" compels us to act in the best interest of those we love. Love compels us to protect those we love. Love sacrifices it own comfort for the sake of others. Love weathers the misunderstandings and anger directed at it. If your "love" is lacking these qualities, maybe your heavy on emotional love and a little light on volitional love, agape love.
"Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful". Proverbs 27:6
---------------
Is this silence sin? Here's the bottom line, the Word of God states that to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17). We really have no excuse for our silence. Are we going to repeat Adam's folly in the Garden of Eden? Are we just going to stand there knowing the commands of God and say nothing while the serpent seduces our friends and family? That's how we all got into this mess in the first place!
"Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand." Ezekiel 33:2-6
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
All the Homers in the House Say, "D'oooh"!!!
My friend, the good Reverend Anthony Carter ( www.cyreneministries1.blogspot.com ) put me to shame recently. He was so kind as to mention the radio program that Pastor Michael Leach and myself host every Sunday morning on WNIV-970am in Atlanta. Thanks, Tony!
The name of the program is, "The Glory of the Gospel". Mike and I are striving to join the effort to bring the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ back to the forefront of American Christian consciousness . . . Help!!! I say that Tony shamed me because he has helped to publicize us when I have failed to do so. We've been on for a month now and I have said nothing about it on my very own blog. D'oh!!!
So at last, I invite you to tune to "The Glory of the Gospel" with Michael Leach and Keith Tolbert every Sunday morning from 9:30am to 10:00am on 970am, WNIV. If you live outside of the Atlanta area you can catch us on the web on www.wniv.com during the program. We hope to also be available at oneplace.com (anytime) in the near future.
I'd also like to acknowledge Christian rap artists, "Christcentric". They are three reformed Christian brothers who are matching sound (and I mean, SOUND) Christian doctrine with Christ-exalting, creative hip-hop (something your "Boogie Down Bronx" blogger can truly appreciate). Their thought-provoking song, "Sufficiency of Scripture" will serve as our opening and closing theme for "The Glory of the Gospel" in the very near future. Please visit the "Christcentric" website and check out their music and their story.
www.christcentric.net/main.html
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!
My friend, the good Reverend Anthony Carter ( www.cyreneministries1.blogspot.com ) put me to shame recently. He was so kind as to mention the radio program that Pastor Michael Leach and myself host every Sunday morning on WNIV-970am in Atlanta. Thanks, Tony!
The name of the program is, "The Glory of the Gospel". Mike and I are striving to join the effort to bring the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ back to the forefront of American Christian consciousness . . . Help!!! I say that Tony shamed me because he has helped to publicize us when I have failed to do so. We've been on for a month now and I have said nothing about it on my very own blog. D'oh!!!
So at last, I invite you to tune to "The Glory of the Gospel" with Michael Leach and Keith Tolbert every Sunday morning from 9:30am to 10:00am on 970am, WNIV. If you live outside of the Atlanta area you can catch us on the web on www.wniv.com during the program. We hope to also be available at oneplace.com (anytime) in the near future.
I'd also like to acknowledge Christian rap artists, "Christcentric". They are three reformed Christian brothers who are matching sound (and I mean, SOUND) Christian doctrine with Christ-exalting, creative hip-hop (something your "Boogie Down Bronx" blogger can truly appreciate). Their thought-provoking song, "Sufficiency of Scripture" will serve as our opening and closing theme for "The Glory of the Gospel" in the very near future. Please visit the "Christcentric" website and check out their music and their story.
www.christcentric.net/main.html
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Bringing Knives to a Gunfight
I recently visited a relatively new website, The Black Church Page www.blackchurchpage.com . I guess you might call this the Wal-Mart of online "black" church information. You name it, you can find some info about it at this site. Unfortunately, like many "black" churches this site is heavy on culture and light on Scripture.
Desiring to understand the foundation on which this site was built, I naturally visited the site's "About Us" page. I could not help but to shake my head in disbelief at what I found. You know that I had to get in touch with "The Black Church Page". Here is my e-mail . . .
" Dear Mr. Matthews,
My name is Keith L. Tolbert. I am a newcomer to your website. I was struck by the opening paragraph of the "about us" section . . .
'God implanted into the spirit of Alphonse D. Matthews long ago that the answers to the socio-economic problems that exist with The African American community are within the African American church. The answers to unemployment, wealth creation, education, poverty, drug abuse all are within the walls of the African American church.'
I have always heard that the best way to chop down a tree is not by cutting off the branches, one by one; but by chopping it down at the trunk where the whole tree will fall down. Why is solving 'socio-economic problems' viewed to be the most pressing need in the 'black' church? It is plainly evident, according to Scripture, that the most pressing need for the "black" church as well as the body of Christ as a whole (where does the Bible ever address a 'black' church?) is to deal with that which so easily entangles us all . . . sin. "Sin" is the tree, our 'socio-economic' problems, et al, are but branches on this tree.
All of us (black, white, yellow, red, etc.), even the saved among us, are still encumbered with a sin nature (indewlling sin). And until this root issue is confronted by the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, the tree (sin) will live and the branches will grow back two for every one you chop off. When will we, especially the 'black' church, understand that our temporal issues such as racism, poverty, education, equal opportunity, etc. are just that, TEMPORAL. As Christians, we are to be fervently mindful of eternal verities. As we deal with the true culprit behind our temporal troubles, we become less vulnerable to them.
The truth is we may not overcome most of these temporal issues in this life. Contrary to popular teaching, the Kingdom of God has not been consumated yet and this life is filled with tribulations and trials. All due to our own sinfulness. The Gospel of Jesus Christ ALONE is the antidote for all of this. And there is less and less of this being taught today in the church, yes even the 'black church.
And when I say the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I do not only mean Jesus' death, burial and resurrection that is only part of the story which is all too easily romanticized. I additionally mean Jesus' sinless life that fulfilled the requirements of God's holy law which qualified Jesus as a perfect sacrifice. I mean His selfless suffering in our stead that we now (as was the apostle Paul) are blessed (yes, BLESSED) to share in (see Phillipians 1:29; Romans 8:17 etc.). His current reign and intercession at the right hand of the Father on behalf of His people.
We often acknowledge that this life is brief and but a vapor; but we still cling to it as if it were all there is. Should not our attitude, and consequently the message of websites like this one, be like that of Paul's who taught us in ll Corinthians 4:7-18 that 'though we are afflicted, we are not crushed. Though we are perplexed, we are not driven to despair. Though persecuted, we are not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed. That this "slight momentary affliction is PREPARING for us an ETERNAL (not temporal) weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look NOT to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are UNSEEN are ETERNAL'.
Since Jesus' ascension back to the Father the church has endured great suffering for the cause of the Gospel. Our brothers and sisters in Christ (not just black folks) have endured being fed to lions, burnings, disembowelment, and relentless torture for THIS cause. Not for "socio-economic" empowerment. I think that it is past time for this shallow, Christ-betraying selfish hew and cry for material health and prosperity. Jesus made it crystal clear that these things make entering His Kingdom
difficult (Matthew 19:23), please consider why we should play up a mindset that only makes our ultimate goal of living with our LORD and Savior, eternally, more difficult.
I think you would be hard pressed to confirm anywhere in Scripture where the goal of the church has been to remedy 'unemployment, wealth creation, education, poverty' and 'drug abuse'. The clear purpose of the church, biblically, is to train God's people in holiness and righteousness and to facilitate their maturing in Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. Success in these areas will necesarily lead to a Christ-like response to the problems you have cited.
Pleae don't misunderstand me, I am not suggesting that we show no concern about these problems. But if any of these issues of socio-economic problems are to be lessened in this lifetime, it will NOT be by focusing the 'branches', we absolutely must deal with the "trunk" continuously. You have quite an opportunity to make a difference with this website. Please do not squander it by joining in with the 'popular' nonsense that is being promoted by far too many pulpits ( black and white) today. We must stand on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ and His Word. Not what itching ears want to hear.
He who has an ear . . . "
To this Matthews replied . . .
"Keith Tolbert,
I appreciate you sharing your viewpoint, however with all due respect this is misdirected. Unless your view is one of I am either lying on God, or I am mistaken about what He shared with me...You would have to take this up with God as to why He gave me this information.
If you do feel that I am lying, or that I am mistaken, then you should pray me and/or this site.
But based on the fruit of this site, and where He is currently taking us, I am going to hold on to what I believe He told me.
Thank you for your comments,
Alphonse D. Matthews
The Black Church Page"
Now, I have no problem with Mr. Matthews sticking to the direction he has chosen; but I would have appreciated a response to the BIBLICAL objections that I raised. Do you notice how he immediately retreated to a self-defensive posture? I didn't accuse him of lying on God or lying at all. I merely challenged him to do what Scripture tells us to do anytime we receive an impression on our "spirit". I John 4:1 admonishes us to "test the spirits". Had Mr. Matthews done this, I believe there would have been a chance that he might have discerned much of what I said to him in my e-mail.
I replied to Mr. Matthews reply with this . . .
"Mr. Matthews,
I am in no way accusing you of lying on God. In fact, I'm not accusing you of anything at all. I just wanted to express my hope that your website would be bold enough to take the less traveled path of refusing to cater to the least common denominators among man: self and materialism. I wanted to both encourage you and prove to you that there is in the 'black' church a market for the strong meat of God's word, sound Biblical exposition and a Christianity that is not characterized by earthly-mindedness. Please do not leave us out of your considerations for the content of this website.
Thanks for reading, considering and responding to my comments. May God bless all of your Christ-centered endeavors!"
And . . .
"Mr. Matthews,
Upon further reflection on your response to my e-mail, I just wanted to ask you what you meant by my viewpoint being "misdirected". I am positive that I presented a purely Biblical viewpoint which was worthy of consideration.
Your response addressed none of the Biblical points I made and seemed to immediately retreat to a defensive position. Please understand that my comments were not an attack upon your website. As I stated in my previous reply, I only hope that you will also consider the needs of the full spectrum of believers within the "black" church community. Such as those who hold to a Reformed, Christ-centered, Biblical perspective of the historic Christian faith; rather than only the man-centered, materialistic, emotion-driven variety. Or should we look for another . . ."
To which he replied . . .
"Mr. Tolbert,
The way your email was presented, it basically stated that the direction that I received from God was not correct. You are entitled to your opinion, but this one you would have to take up with God; not me. (Misdirected)
-Alphonse"
O.K., maybe I got a little dig in there with the "the man-centered, materialistic, emotion-driven variety." thing; but if this website wants to be the site for the "black" church, it ought to "represent" for all of the "black" church! You betta reckanize!
It seems that the Bible is off-limits at this website. So, if you are in the mood for more "Christianity-lite" please visit "The Black Church Page". Be warned, if you want to be armed for a deeper walk with Jesus, these guys can only give you a knife for a gunfight.
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!
I recently visited a relatively new website, The Black Church Page www.blackchurchpage.com . I guess you might call this the Wal-Mart of online "black" church information. You name it, you can find some info about it at this site. Unfortunately, like many "black" churches this site is heavy on culture and light on Scripture.
Desiring to understand the foundation on which this site was built, I naturally visited the site's "About Us" page. I could not help but to shake my head in disbelief at what I found. You know that I had to get in touch with "The Black Church Page". Here is my e-mail . . .
" Dear Mr. Matthews,
My name is Keith L. Tolbert. I am a newcomer to your website. I was struck by the opening paragraph of the "about us" section . . .
'God implanted into the spirit of Alphonse D. Matthews long ago that the answers to the socio-economic problems that exist with The African American community are within the African American church. The answers to unemployment, wealth creation, education, poverty, drug abuse all are within the walls of the African American church.'
I have always heard that the best way to chop down a tree is not by cutting off the branches, one by one; but by chopping it down at the trunk where the whole tree will fall down. Why is solving 'socio-economic problems' viewed to be the most pressing need in the 'black' church? It is plainly evident, according to Scripture, that the most pressing need for the "black" church as well as the body of Christ as a whole (where does the Bible ever address a 'black' church?) is to deal with that which so easily entangles us all . . . sin. "Sin" is the tree, our 'socio-economic' problems, et al, are but branches on this tree.
All of us (black, white, yellow, red, etc.), even the saved among us, are still encumbered with a sin nature (indewlling sin). And until this root issue is confronted by the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, the tree (sin) will live and the branches will grow back two for every one you chop off. When will we, especially the 'black' church, understand that our temporal issues such as racism, poverty, education, equal opportunity, etc. are just that, TEMPORAL. As Christians, we are to be fervently mindful of eternal verities. As we deal with the true culprit behind our temporal troubles, we become less vulnerable to them.
The truth is we may not overcome most of these temporal issues in this life. Contrary to popular teaching, the Kingdom of God has not been consumated yet and this life is filled with tribulations and trials. All due to our own sinfulness. The Gospel of Jesus Christ ALONE is the antidote for all of this. And there is less and less of this being taught today in the church, yes even the 'black church.
And when I say the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I do not only mean Jesus' death, burial and resurrection that is only part of the story which is all too easily romanticized. I additionally mean Jesus' sinless life that fulfilled the requirements of God's holy law which qualified Jesus as a perfect sacrifice. I mean His selfless suffering in our stead that we now (as was the apostle Paul) are blessed (yes, BLESSED) to share in (see Phillipians 1:29; Romans 8:17 etc.). His current reign and intercession at the right hand of the Father on behalf of His people.
We often acknowledge that this life is brief and but a vapor; but we still cling to it as if it were all there is. Should not our attitude, and consequently the message of websites like this one, be like that of Paul's who taught us in ll Corinthians 4:7-18 that 'though we are afflicted, we are not crushed. Though we are perplexed, we are not driven to despair. Though persecuted, we are not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed. That this "slight momentary affliction is PREPARING for us an ETERNAL (not temporal) weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look NOT to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are UNSEEN are ETERNAL'.
Since Jesus' ascension back to the Father the church has endured great suffering for the cause of the Gospel. Our brothers and sisters in Christ (not just black folks) have endured being fed to lions, burnings, disembowelment, and relentless torture for THIS cause. Not for "socio-economic" empowerment. I think that it is past time for this shallow, Christ-betraying selfish hew and cry for material health and prosperity. Jesus made it crystal clear that these things make entering His Kingdom
difficult (Matthew 19:23), please consider why we should play up a mindset that only makes our ultimate goal of living with our LORD and Savior, eternally, more difficult.
I think you would be hard pressed to confirm anywhere in Scripture where the goal of the church has been to remedy 'unemployment, wealth creation, education, poverty' and 'drug abuse'. The clear purpose of the church, biblically, is to train God's people in holiness and righteousness and to facilitate their maturing in Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. Success in these areas will necesarily lead to a Christ-like response to the problems you have cited.
Pleae don't misunderstand me, I am not suggesting that we show no concern about these problems. But if any of these issues of socio-economic problems are to be lessened in this lifetime, it will NOT be by focusing the 'branches', we absolutely must deal with the "trunk" continuously. You have quite an opportunity to make a difference with this website. Please do not squander it by joining in with the 'popular' nonsense that is being promoted by far too many pulpits ( black and white) today. We must stand on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ and His Word. Not what itching ears want to hear.
He who has an ear . . . "
To this Matthews replied . . .
"Keith Tolbert,
I appreciate you sharing your viewpoint, however with all due respect this is misdirected. Unless your view is one of I am either lying on God, or I am mistaken about what He shared with me...You would have to take this up with God as to why He gave me this information.
If you do feel that I am lying, or that I am mistaken, then you should pray me and/or this site.
But based on the fruit of this site, and where He is currently taking us, I am going to hold on to what I believe He told me.
Thank you for your comments,
Alphonse D. Matthews
The Black Church Page"
Now, I have no problem with Mr. Matthews sticking to the direction he has chosen; but I would have appreciated a response to the BIBLICAL objections that I raised. Do you notice how he immediately retreated to a self-defensive posture? I didn't accuse him of lying on God or lying at all. I merely challenged him to do what Scripture tells us to do anytime we receive an impression on our "spirit". I John 4:1 admonishes us to "test the spirits". Had Mr. Matthews done this, I believe there would have been a chance that he might have discerned much of what I said to him in my e-mail.
I replied to Mr. Matthews reply with this . . .
"Mr. Matthews,
I am in no way accusing you of lying on God. In fact, I'm not accusing you of anything at all. I just wanted to express my hope that your website would be bold enough to take the less traveled path of refusing to cater to the least common denominators among man: self and materialism. I wanted to both encourage you and prove to you that there is in the 'black' church a market for the strong meat of God's word, sound Biblical exposition and a Christianity that is not characterized by earthly-mindedness. Please do not leave us out of your considerations for the content of this website.
Thanks for reading, considering and responding to my comments. May God bless all of your Christ-centered endeavors!"
And . . .
"Mr. Matthews,
Upon further reflection on your response to my e-mail, I just wanted to ask you what you meant by my viewpoint being "misdirected". I am positive that I presented a purely Biblical viewpoint which was worthy of consideration.
Your response addressed none of the Biblical points I made and seemed to immediately retreat to a defensive position. Please understand that my comments were not an attack upon your website. As I stated in my previous reply, I only hope that you will also consider the needs of the full spectrum of believers within the "black" church community. Such as those who hold to a Reformed, Christ-centered, Biblical perspective of the historic Christian faith; rather than only the man-centered, materialistic, emotion-driven variety. Or should we look for another . . ."
To which he replied . . .
"Mr. Tolbert,
The way your email was presented, it basically stated that the direction that I received from God was not correct. You are entitled to your opinion, but this one you would have to take up with God; not me. (Misdirected)
-Alphonse"
O.K., maybe I got a little dig in there with the "the man-centered, materialistic, emotion-driven variety." thing; but if this website wants to be the site for the "black" church, it ought to "represent" for all of the "black" church! You betta reckanize!
It seems that the Bible is off-limits at this website. So, if you are in the mood for more "Christianity-lite" please visit "The Black Church Page". Be warned, if you want to be armed for a deeper walk with Jesus, these guys can only give you a knife for a gunfight.
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
HOW NOT TO WALK THE PLANK (The one in our eye, that is)
I'm still being enthralled by Jeremiah Burroughs this week. Although I had completed my reading of his, "A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness" a week ago, I felt compelled to read it once again. This time I observed a stern warning for those of us who are reformed and are strongly drawn to apologetics. So for all you "word-faith" fans and "little gods" out there, we reformed folk do turn the radar on ourselves!
In chapter five of this superbly insightful book (Nine Proofs of Earthly-Mindedness), Burroughs warns us to beware that "through some predominant lust for something else, a man may seem to despise some earthly thing". Basically, he is saying that a man's apparent despising of one sin may actually be due to a lust for another rather than a true hatred for the first. For example, a man may apparently despise the love of money but only because he doesn't want to be generous. This, according to Burroughs, is also a proof of earthly-mindedness.
Burroughs uses Isaiah 13:17 for a text that illustrates this principle. Scripture, here, describes the Medes as a people that did "not regard silver, and as for gold they shall not delight in it", apparently the love of money was not a problem for them. God, however, still describes them as wicked and heathen and having no grace in them at all. Burroughs elaborates, "Some men think it is through the work of grace because they are above the base covetousness they see in other men. They do not regard silver and gold, or getting all for themselves and they despise those men who are of such a base, covetous way". Burroughs states that this makes a man no better than a Mede. Although he may disregard silver and gold, it is only because his spirit entertains a different lust.
Herein, I believe, lies the stern warning for those of us who are reformed and love apologetics. Is our readiness to hold others' feet to the fire only a means to deflect further investigation of ourselves? Is our love for sound doctrine and biblical accuracy somehow a disguise for our own sin? In other words, have we removed the plank in our own eyes in order that we may see more clearly to remove the speck in another's eye? This calls for much self-examination.
Burroughs provides a strong test. He challenges us with this: "Can you say this, you who seem to scorn covetousness, and hate such base sordidness as you see in some men, "The LORD has made me to know what communion with Himself in Jesus Christ means; and since that time I bless God that my heart has been above all these earthly things. And that's the reason that I look upon all these earthly things as vanity, because the LORD has revealed to me those excellent and glorious thing that are infinitely above these earthly things . . . where lies the chief joy and sorrow of men's hearts? What is it that most troubles your heart? Is it the loss of the light of God's face or the loss of an estate; the loss of a voyage, or the commission of a sin? What's your chief joy, your profiting from the Word or gaining from a bargain? You have come to the Word and, sometimes, God has there revealed some truth to you, and you have profited. Can you go away rejoicing because God has made you to know His Law?" This is indeed a stern test. May all who endeavor to decry the abuses of the modern pulpit first pass it before ever uttering a single criticism.
The Apostle Paul instructs us through Titus to "rebuke them sharply (false teachers), that they may be sound in the faith . . ."(Titus 1:13) and this is not to be disregarded. However, the Apostle James also warns, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment". For,with the same measure that we mete, so shall it be meted unto us!
There. Now, having fulfilled my contractual obligation to be self-effacing let us return to the business at hand; that Benny Hinn is a . . .
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans Baby!
I'm still being enthralled by Jeremiah Burroughs this week. Although I had completed my reading of his, "A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness" a week ago, I felt compelled to read it once again. This time I observed a stern warning for those of us who are reformed and are strongly drawn to apologetics. So for all you "word-faith" fans and "little gods" out there, we reformed folk do turn the radar on ourselves!
In chapter five of this superbly insightful book (Nine Proofs of Earthly-Mindedness), Burroughs warns us to beware that "through some predominant lust for something else, a man may seem to despise some earthly thing". Basically, he is saying that a man's apparent despising of one sin may actually be due to a lust for another rather than a true hatred for the first. For example, a man may apparently despise the love of money but only because he doesn't want to be generous. This, according to Burroughs, is also a proof of earthly-mindedness.
Burroughs uses Isaiah 13:17 for a text that illustrates this principle. Scripture, here, describes the Medes as a people that did "not regard silver, and as for gold they shall not delight in it", apparently the love of money was not a problem for them. God, however, still describes them as wicked and heathen and having no grace in them at all. Burroughs elaborates, "Some men think it is through the work of grace because they are above the base covetousness they see in other men. They do not regard silver and gold, or getting all for themselves and they despise those men who are of such a base, covetous way". Burroughs states that this makes a man no better than a Mede. Although he may disregard silver and gold, it is only because his spirit entertains a different lust.
Herein, I believe, lies the stern warning for those of us who are reformed and love apologetics. Is our readiness to hold others' feet to the fire only a means to deflect further investigation of ourselves? Is our love for sound doctrine and biblical accuracy somehow a disguise for our own sin? In other words, have we removed the plank in our own eyes in order that we may see more clearly to remove the speck in another's eye? This calls for much self-examination.
Burroughs provides a strong test. He challenges us with this: "Can you say this, you who seem to scorn covetousness, and hate such base sordidness as you see in some men, "The LORD has made me to know what communion with Himself in Jesus Christ means; and since that time I bless God that my heart has been above all these earthly things. And that's the reason that I look upon all these earthly things as vanity, because the LORD has revealed to me those excellent and glorious thing that are infinitely above these earthly things . . . where lies the chief joy and sorrow of men's hearts? What is it that most troubles your heart? Is it the loss of the light of God's face or the loss of an estate; the loss of a voyage, or the commission of a sin? What's your chief joy, your profiting from the Word or gaining from a bargain? You have come to the Word and, sometimes, God has there revealed some truth to you, and you have profited. Can you go away rejoicing because God has made you to know His Law?" This is indeed a stern test. May all who endeavor to decry the abuses of the modern pulpit first pass it before ever uttering a single criticism.
The Apostle Paul instructs us through Titus to "rebuke them sharply (false teachers), that they may be sound in the faith . . ."(Titus 1:13) and this is not to be disregarded. However, the Apostle James also warns, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment". For,with the same measure that we mete, so shall it be meted unto us!
There. Now, having fulfilled my contractual obligation to be self-effacing let us return to the business at hand; that Benny Hinn is a . . .
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans Baby!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
THE ANTIDOTE FOR "WORD-FAITH" THEOLOGY
Recently, it has been my privilege to read another convicting and growth-provoking book from one of the most piercingly insightful and most beloved writer/pastors of the English Puritan era; Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646). In his "A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness", Burroughs accurately diagnoses what remains a blight on Christianity today. We have often heard the cliche that someone can be so "heavenly-minded that they are no earthly-good". I think that it is safe to say that much of Christianity, especially that sector that subscribes to "word-faith" theology (oxymoron), need not have any fear of that because the lion share of the popular preaching and teaching in the American church is firmly rooted and grounded in the dust of the earth.
In the foreword, Dr. R. C. Sproul (founder of Ligonier Ministries) is quite forthright about his low expectations for the reception of this venerated book by today's Christians. He states, "My guess is that few people will ever pick up this book and read it. Its theme and content are too alien to modern Christianity. Twentieth-century Christians have been seduced by a world-view that makes the thrust of this book seem archaic. It simply doesn't fit our times . . . Our thinking is earth-bound . . . Gone is the Biblical doctrine of the soul. There is much concern about self-image, self-esteem, and self-gratification. Yet, in all this, the 'self' itself has become a philosophical conundrum."
In focusing on only a portion of one verse of Scripture, " . . . who minds earthly things . . ." (Phil. 3:19), Burroughs sets out to defend his doctrinal statement: "The great difference between a wicked man and a godly man is that one minds earthly things and the other has his conversation in heaven". Burroughs explains that in the preceding 17th verse, the Apostle Paul argues that the earthly-minded are " . . . enemies of the cross of Christ, and they make their belly their god, and they mind earthly things". His defense of this point is irrefutably expounded throughout the remainder of the treatise. For the purposes of this post, I wish to focus on that part of this treatise that, I believe, is particularly contradictory of the far too popular "word-faith" teaching that is infesting the minds of far too many professed Christians today.
In chapter six of his treatise, Burroughs presents "Seven Reasons of Men's Earthly-Mindedness". Reason #4 gives us the first ingredient of the antidote for "word-faith" teaching, " . . . these things of the earth have a fair show in the flesh. Under this head, Burroughs directly addresses what drives false teachers. Quoting Galatians 6:12, Burroughs explains that there will be men who dress themselves luxuriously and having handsome features will be splendid to the eyes of all who behold them. These, he says , are false teachers who desire to make a "fair show in the flesh". They take satisfaction in having fine estates and appealing apparel and all creature comforts. They, according to Burroughs, are here enemies of the cross of Christ. They think suffering for Christ, poverty, or disgrace looks bad. But those who would make a fair show in the flesh and be somebody in this world, forsake the truths of God and seek to provide for themselves in the things of the flesh (pp. 70-71). This was first published in 1649 people! Same dog, same tricks!
What do the false teachers of our day, (the Dollars, the Harrison-Bryants, the Jakeses) all have in common? Among other things, is it not a virtual deluge of temporal and material goods. The very things that Jesus warned us would make entering His kingdom all the more difficult. I guess these guys are willing to take the risk after all they are spiritual giants; so they must be able to handle it.
Of course, they always frame they're riches as a means to demonstrate what Jesus can do for His people. Yeah, so that whole fulfilling the law, being savagely beaten, being nailed to a cross and dying thing was just so we could have the wealth of the world! Which is going to be destroyed anyway. How could I have missed that? Talk about rearranging the deck-chairs on the Titanic!
In chapter seven,"Eleven Considerations to Take the Mind of Earthly-mindedness" (pp.73-75),Burroughs deals another death-blow to "word-faith" teaching. He says, "First consider this: if you could possess all the thing of the earth that your mind and heart are upon, there is still not enough good in them as to undo the evil of the least sin, not the least sin of thought . . . if you had but one sinful thought, there is more evil in that than there is good in all that you shall get all the days of your life". He further explains that if this is so it concerns us rather to have our minds on how to avoid sin, how to get the evil of sin removed, and how to mortify (kill) our sin. In other words we much too concerned with the wrong problem. It's not about to get back the stuff that "satan" has stolen from us (which usually translates to material things in "word-faith" circles); it's about dealing with our all too present and persistent sin.
A second consideration under this heading is this: "the chief things that are in the earth have been the portion of reprobates (the unsaved) heretofore and are to this day, and shall be the portion of multitudes whom God hates and has set apart to glorify His infinite justice eternally". The reprobate has his reward now, in finite time. Our treasures in Heaven are eternal and without regret. God has made man for higher things than the things of this earth. Consider, these earthly treasures are the treasures of a fallen creation. Of how much greater worth are eternal treasures. Here's a four-letter word for you: delayed gratification.
Consider what Jesus had done, he took man's nature and died for man. As Burroughs exclaims, "Surely there must be some other manner of things that are the fruit of the purchase of the blood of Christ than the things of the earth". He says, of all the creatures God has made on earth we are the only ones capable of knowing Him. God has given us a nature that is capable of conversing with Him. therefore there are infinitely higher things that God has made us for than to have meat, drink, and clothes just to live here for awhile and enjoy creature features. Doubtless meat drink and clothes are necessary but when we live for the material, the eternal suffers greatly. Ask the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:1-30).
I would ask my "word-faith" believing friends to consider who is truly the focus of this atheology. Is it truly Yahweh, or is it Yourway. Yahweh is eternal. Yourway leads to death. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 14:12).
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!
Recently, it has been my privilege to read another convicting and growth-provoking book from one of the most piercingly insightful and most beloved writer/pastors of the English Puritan era; Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646). In his "A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness", Burroughs accurately diagnoses what remains a blight on Christianity today. We have often heard the cliche that someone can be so "heavenly-minded that they are no earthly-good". I think that it is safe to say that much of Christianity, especially that sector that subscribes to "word-faith" theology (oxymoron), need not have any fear of that because the lion share of the popular preaching and teaching in the American church is firmly rooted and grounded in the dust of the earth.
In the foreword, Dr. R. C. Sproul (founder of Ligonier Ministries) is quite forthright about his low expectations for the reception of this venerated book by today's Christians. He states, "My guess is that few people will ever pick up this book and read it. Its theme and content are too alien to modern Christianity. Twentieth-century Christians have been seduced by a world-view that makes the thrust of this book seem archaic. It simply doesn't fit our times . . . Our thinking is earth-bound . . . Gone is the Biblical doctrine of the soul. There is much concern about self-image, self-esteem, and self-gratification. Yet, in all this, the 'self' itself has become a philosophical conundrum."
In focusing on only a portion of one verse of Scripture, " . . . who minds earthly things . . ." (Phil. 3:19), Burroughs sets out to defend his doctrinal statement: "The great difference between a wicked man and a godly man is that one minds earthly things and the other has his conversation in heaven". Burroughs explains that in the preceding 17th verse, the Apostle Paul argues that the earthly-minded are " . . . enemies of the cross of Christ, and they make their belly their god, and they mind earthly things". His defense of this point is irrefutably expounded throughout the remainder of the treatise. For the purposes of this post, I wish to focus on that part of this treatise that, I believe, is particularly contradictory of the far too popular "word-faith" teaching that is infesting the minds of far too many professed Christians today.
In chapter six of his treatise, Burroughs presents "Seven Reasons of Men's Earthly-Mindedness". Reason #4 gives us the first ingredient of the antidote for "word-faith" teaching, " . . . these things of the earth have a fair show in the flesh. Under this head, Burroughs directly addresses what drives false teachers. Quoting Galatians 6:12, Burroughs explains that there will be men who dress themselves luxuriously and having handsome features will be splendid to the eyes of all who behold them. These, he says , are false teachers who desire to make a "fair show in the flesh". They take satisfaction in having fine estates and appealing apparel and all creature comforts. They, according to Burroughs, are here enemies of the cross of Christ. They think suffering for Christ, poverty, or disgrace looks bad. But those who would make a fair show in the flesh and be somebody in this world, forsake the truths of God and seek to provide for themselves in the things of the flesh (pp. 70-71). This was first published in 1649 people! Same dog, same tricks!
What do the false teachers of our day, (the Dollars, the Harrison-Bryants, the Jakeses) all have in common? Among other things, is it not a virtual deluge of temporal and material goods. The very things that Jesus warned us would make entering His kingdom all the more difficult. I guess these guys are willing to take the risk after all they are spiritual giants; so they must be able to handle it.
Of course, they always frame they're riches as a means to demonstrate what Jesus can do for His people. Yeah, so that whole fulfilling the law, being savagely beaten, being nailed to a cross and dying thing was just so we could have the wealth of the world! Which is going to be destroyed anyway. How could I have missed that? Talk about rearranging the deck-chairs on the Titanic!
In chapter seven,"Eleven Considerations to Take the Mind of Earthly-mindedness" (pp.73-75),Burroughs deals another death-blow to "word-faith" teaching. He says, "First consider this: if you could possess all the thing of the earth that your mind and heart are upon, there is still not enough good in them as to undo the evil of the least sin, not the least sin of thought . . . if you had but one sinful thought, there is more evil in that than there is good in all that you shall get all the days of your life". He further explains that if this is so it concerns us rather to have our minds on how to avoid sin, how to get the evil of sin removed, and how to mortify (kill) our sin. In other words we much too concerned with the wrong problem. It's not about to get back the stuff that "satan" has stolen from us (which usually translates to material things in "word-faith" circles); it's about dealing with our all too present and persistent sin.
A second consideration under this heading is this: "the chief things that are in the earth have been the portion of reprobates (the unsaved) heretofore and are to this day, and shall be the portion of multitudes whom God hates and has set apart to glorify His infinite justice eternally". The reprobate has his reward now, in finite time. Our treasures in Heaven are eternal and without regret. God has made man for higher things than the things of this earth. Consider, these earthly treasures are the treasures of a fallen creation. Of how much greater worth are eternal treasures. Here's a four-letter word for you: delayed gratification.
Consider what Jesus had done, he took man's nature and died for man. As Burroughs exclaims, "Surely there must be some other manner of things that are the fruit of the purchase of the blood of Christ than the things of the earth". He says, of all the creatures God has made on earth we are the only ones capable of knowing Him. God has given us a nature that is capable of conversing with Him. therefore there are infinitely higher things that God has made us for than to have meat, drink, and clothes just to live here for awhile and enjoy creature features. Doubtless meat drink and clothes are necessary but when we live for the material, the eternal suffers greatly. Ask the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:1-30).
I would ask my "word-faith" believing friends to consider who is truly the focus of this atheology. Is it truly Yahweh, or is it Yourway. Yahweh is eternal. Yourway leads to death. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 14:12).
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!
Saturday, May 05, 2007
A Lil’ Somethin’-Somethin’ for the Ladies (one in particular)
Dear Readers,
I have to venture out on a slightly different path with this post. Please allow me a little unburdening time as I deal with the 800-pound gorilla in my living room. Maybe those of you who have had their daily dose of theology and doctrine will be interested in a little “nuts-n-bolts,” “rubber-meets-the-road” Christianity.
I confess to you that there is currently trouble in my home. That’s right, Mr. “In Submission to Sovereignty” and his spare rib are at odds. Of course, I won’t go into detail (c’mon, I hardly even know you!), but I just want to comment on some analysis I received from a mutual friend of ours.
Among many other valuable insights our friend said to me, “Well, y’know Keith, Lisa has been through a lot with you . . .” That little chestnut sent me into a firestorm of self examination. I hope some of what I have gleaned will give some of my female readers (if I have any) some food for thought when dealing with the strange creature that God has made called, “husband.”
"Y'know, Keith, Lisa has been through a lot with you . . ." Well, yeah! I make no claim as to being the easiest guy to live with. I’m argumentative, I’m opinionated and I’m rarely wrong. Gimme a break I’m a Marine, I’m Reformed and I am Blanton W. Tolbert’s son fer cryin' out loud! I also have a very clear sense of right and wrong. It seems to me that the “wrong” way always seems to lead to regret and pain in the end. So I figure, “hey, just for spits and giggles, let’s just try it the ‘right’ way, God’s way.” Yes, He’s a little slow sometimes for our taste, but I say what the heck, let’s give Him a crack at it.
One thing that I have pretty much settled in my mind is that the Bible is true. I know that “truth” is a very fluid concept in our postmodern times; however, for my purposes “truth” is objective, it is absolute and it is epitomized in God’s Word, the Bible. Now, call me “foolish,” but I hold all professing Christians to the same standard. I can hear you all saying in unison, “O.K., you’re ‘foolish’.” A guy can dream, can’t he? Just for the sake of argument, let’s assume (yikes) for a moment that my wife, our friend and I are absolutely convinced of the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible. To say that my wife has “been through a lot” with me brings loads of what the Bible teaches to mind for me.
Immediately my mind flies to I Corinthians 10:6, “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” I also flash back to Malachi 3:6 in which Yahweh declares, “For I am the LORD, I do not change.” With these passages in mind, I am led to believe that for a wife to “go through a lot” with her husband is the Biblical norm, rather than the exception.
I think of Noah’s wife. Picture Noah coming home one evening and saying this, “Honey, pack up the kids and get all of your stuff together; we’re going for a ride on the ark that I’m about to build. It’s gonna rain. A lot!” Can you imagine the conversations she had with her girlfriends the next day?
I think of Sarah, wife of the father of the faithful. Abe comes in one day and says, “Sarai, pack up all your stuff, kiss momma and all your family good-bye cause we’re leaving Ur.” Sarah says, “Abe, sweetheart, where are we going?” Abe responds, “I have no idea.” I can imagine Abe’s mother-in-law had her ear bent that night!
Then a few months later, Abe approaches Sarah with this bombshell: “Sarah, sweetie, while we’re here in Egypt, would you mind saying that you’re my 'sister'? Oh, and would you mind being in Pharaoh’s harem . . . just for a little while? So he won’t kill me.”
Lot’s wife also had to go through a lot. One night, Lot walks into their bedroom and says, “Saltina, there are two strangers in the living room and they say we have to leave Sodom, NOW.”
She didn’t even have time to take the rollers out of her hair!
These men received directives from God and responded in faith. If they are our example, should we not be doing so as well and with even greater confidence. For we have the completed text of the “truth” in God’s inerrant and infallible Word. Now, I’m not ringing my own chimes here, but I have trusted Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death on the cross for my sin. Because of that, God now calls me a “righteous” man. God has promised me in Psalm 37:23 that the steps of a “righteous” man are ordered by the LORD. Therefore, knowing that He ordered the steps of Noah, Abraham, and Lot (righteous men), I’ve gotta believe He’s ordering mine too.
What of the wives? Knowing that their husbands were “righteous” men, they trusted them and were spared even while having no direct word from God. Noah’s wife trusted him and was spared having to tread water for 150 days. Lot’s wife was spared from real acid rain, but got homesick and was turned into a table seasoning. Sarah trusted Abraham and became the mother of all the faithful. In fact, she even made the “Faith Hall of Fame” (Hebrews 11:8-39). Sarah, as it turns out is the standard to which the Apostle Peter holds all godly wives in I Peter 3:5-6.
So ladies, having these examples and having been forewarned of having to “go through a lot” (Phil 1:29), what then should be your response when these “truths” show up at your door? Should you let what you see and feel dictate your response? Should you pull away from your spouse and regard him as your enemy? It’s my guess that the devil is planning on just that reaction. It would provide just the foothold that he needs to wreak havoc on your family, your marriage and your life.
Shouldn’t you rather turn back to the inerrant and infallible Word of God and heed His charge to walk by faith and not by sight? Is it not wiser that when these “truths” show up at your door we should cling even more tenaciously to each other? Shouldn’t we hold at the very front of our minds the vows we pledged to each other that rainy Saturday, September 5, 1992 afternoon? When we looked deeply into each others’ eyes and promised before God and man that for better or worse, through sickness and in health . . . to love, honor and cherish each other until death do us part. Shouldn’t our words be as inerrant and infallible as our heavenly Father’s words?
Ladies, the Scriptures tell us that we are wise to the devil’s schemes. We know that he comes to you today, just the way he came to Eve in the garden. He slithers up to you and he whispers seductively into your ear: “Adam doesn’t love you. Adam is only thinking of himself. Adam doesn’t care about how you feeelll.” But you are wise to his schemes. When he speaks, he speaks in his native tongue: “lie-lie.” He is the one who doesn’t love you. He is the one who is only thinking of himself (he knows his time is short). He not only doesn’t care about how you feel, he wants to destroy your life and that of your entire family.
God, in His Word, has told us how to respond. He said, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). God, the Omniscient, has declared that you and your husband are “one flesh.” Do not allow the one who was a murderer and a deceiver, from the beginning, to rob, steal and kill yet again. What God hath joined together let no man or demon put asunder. Your war is not against the flesh and blood of your husband. It is against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Yeah, I’m not the easiest guy to live with. Yeah, I have taken her through a lot. But never, no never have I taken a major step without first bathing it in prayer and getting God’s answer. Never, no never have I wanted anything less than the absolute best for my best friend, my helpmate, my wife. Never, no never have I done anything to betray my love’s trust. Never, no never have I tried to crush the gifts that God has blessed her with. Never, no never has my love for her waned or wandered. And with the Holy Spirit to strengthen me, I never, no never will.
Lisa, I don’t know if only two or two million eyes will ever read this post. But I unabashedly declare to you my undying, unyielding and irrepressible love to you. If ever this should change then may my tongue be cleaved to the roof of my mouth and my left hand lose its cunning for naught but Almighty God, Himself, shall ever be able to cleave me from you.
To you other ladies out there . . . remember if your husband is saved, God calls him a “righteous” man. The sovereign God of the universe says that He is ordering your husband’s footsteps. So if bruh’man comes home one day and says: “Babe, we’re moving to New Zealand” or “I think we should get the 72-inch plasma HDTV” and you know that he’s a man of prayer, try giving him the benefit of the doubt. After all, Sarah didn’t make it to the “Faith Hall of Fame” by rolling her neck and watching “Oprah.” As long as he is not asking you to sell your body, knock over a liquor store or cheer for the Boston Red Sox, he ‘s not leading you into sin. Just think about this, do you want to be the one who got in the way of the steps of a righteous man whose steps were being ordered by the LORD?
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!
P.S. To the end that we professing Christians may walk our talk, I leave you with some poetry. I have held this poem near and dear to my heart ever since that dark and crisp night of March 5, 1983 when I crossed the burning sands of
Omega Psi Phi. Enjoy!
Live Your Creed
I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one any day.
I'd rather one walk with me than just to show the way.
The eye is a better pupil and more willing than the ear.
Advice may be misleading but examples are always clear.
And the very best of teachers are the ones who live their creed,
For to see good put into action is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn to do it if you let me see it done.
I can watch your hand in motion but your tongue too fast may run
And the lectures you deliver may be very fine and true
But I'd rather get my lesson by observing what you do.
For I may misunderstand you and the fine advice you give
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
Dear Readers,
I have to venture out on a slightly different path with this post. Please allow me a little unburdening time as I deal with the 800-pound gorilla in my living room. Maybe those of you who have had their daily dose of theology and doctrine will be interested in a little “nuts-n-bolts,” “rubber-meets-the-road” Christianity.
I confess to you that there is currently trouble in my home. That’s right, Mr. “In Submission to Sovereignty” and his spare rib are at odds. Of course, I won’t go into detail (c’mon, I hardly even know you!), but I just want to comment on some analysis I received from a mutual friend of ours.
Among many other valuable insights our friend said to me, “Well, y’know Keith, Lisa has been through a lot with you . . .” That little chestnut sent me into a firestorm of self examination. I hope some of what I have gleaned will give some of my female readers (if I have any) some food for thought when dealing with the strange creature that God has made called, “husband.”
"Y'know, Keith, Lisa has been through a lot with you . . ." Well, yeah! I make no claim as to being the easiest guy to live with. I’m argumentative, I’m opinionated and I’m rarely wrong. Gimme a break I’m a Marine, I’m Reformed and I am Blanton W. Tolbert’s son fer cryin' out loud! I also have a very clear sense of right and wrong. It seems to me that the “wrong” way always seems to lead to regret and pain in the end. So I figure, “hey, just for spits and giggles, let’s just try it the ‘right’ way, God’s way.” Yes, He’s a little slow sometimes for our taste, but I say what the heck, let’s give Him a crack at it.
One thing that I have pretty much settled in my mind is that the Bible is true. I know that “truth” is a very fluid concept in our postmodern times; however, for my purposes “truth” is objective, it is absolute and it is epitomized in God’s Word, the Bible. Now, call me “foolish,” but I hold all professing Christians to the same standard. I can hear you all saying in unison, “O.K., you’re ‘foolish’.” A guy can dream, can’t he? Just for the sake of argument, let’s assume (yikes) for a moment that my wife, our friend and I are absolutely convinced of the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible. To say that my wife has “been through a lot” with me brings loads of what the Bible teaches to mind for me.
Immediately my mind flies to I Corinthians 10:6, “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.” I also flash back to Malachi 3:6 in which Yahweh declares, “For I am the LORD, I do not change.” With these passages in mind, I am led to believe that for a wife to “go through a lot” with her husband is the Biblical norm, rather than the exception.
I think of Noah’s wife. Picture Noah coming home one evening and saying this, “Honey, pack up the kids and get all of your stuff together; we’re going for a ride on the ark that I’m about to build. It’s gonna rain. A lot!” Can you imagine the conversations she had with her girlfriends the next day?
I think of Sarah, wife of the father of the faithful. Abe comes in one day and says, “Sarai, pack up all your stuff, kiss momma and all your family good-bye cause we’re leaving Ur.” Sarah says, “Abe, sweetheart, where are we going?” Abe responds, “I have no idea.” I can imagine Abe’s mother-in-law had her ear bent that night!
Then a few months later, Abe approaches Sarah with this bombshell: “Sarah, sweetie, while we’re here in Egypt, would you mind saying that you’re my 'sister'? Oh, and would you mind being in Pharaoh’s harem . . . just for a little while? So he won’t kill me.”
Lot’s wife also had to go through a lot. One night, Lot walks into their bedroom and says, “Saltina, there are two strangers in the living room and they say we have to leave Sodom, NOW.”
She didn’t even have time to take the rollers out of her hair!
These men received directives from God and responded in faith. If they are our example, should we not be doing so as well and with even greater confidence. For we have the completed text of the “truth” in God’s inerrant and infallible Word. Now, I’m not ringing my own chimes here, but I have trusted Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death on the cross for my sin. Because of that, God now calls me a “righteous” man. God has promised me in Psalm 37:23 that the steps of a “righteous” man are ordered by the LORD. Therefore, knowing that He ordered the steps of Noah, Abraham, and Lot (righteous men), I’ve gotta believe He’s ordering mine too.
What of the wives? Knowing that their husbands were “righteous” men, they trusted them and were spared even while having no direct word from God. Noah’s wife trusted him and was spared having to tread water for 150 days. Lot’s wife was spared from real acid rain, but got homesick and was turned into a table seasoning. Sarah trusted Abraham and became the mother of all the faithful. In fact, she even made the “Faith Hall of Fame” (Hebrews 11:8-39). Sarah, as it turns out is the standard to which the Apostle Peter holds all godly wives in I Peter 3:5-6.
So ladies, having these examples and having been forewarned of having to “go through a lot” (Phil 1:29), what then should be your response when these “truths” show up at your door? Should you let what you see and feel dictate your response? Should you pull away from your spouse and regard him as your enemy? It’s my guess that the devil is planning on just that reaction. It would provide just the foothold that he needs to wreak havoc on your family, your marriage and your life.
Shouldn’t you rather turn back to the inerrant and infallible Word of God and heed His charge to walk by faith and not by sight? Is it not wiser that when these “truths” show up at your door we should cling even more tenaciously to each other? Shouldn’t we hold at the very front of our minds the vows we pledged to each other that rainy Saturday, September 5, 1992 afternoon? When we looked deeply into each others’ eyes and promised before God and man that for better or worse, through sickness and in health . . . to love, honor and cherish each other until death do us part. Shouldn’t our words be as inerrant and infallible as our heavenly Father’s words?
Ladies, the Scriptures tell us that we are wise to the devil’s schemes. We know that he comes to you today, just the way he came to Eve in the garden. He slithers up to you and he whispers seductively into your ear: “Adam doesn’t love you. Adam is only thinking of himself. Adam doesn’t care about how you feeelll.” But you are wise to his schemes. When he speaks, he speaks in his native tongue: “lie-lie.” He is the one who doesn’t love you. He is the one who is only thinking of himself (he knows his time is short). He not only doesn’t care about how you feel, he wants to destroy your life and that of your entire family.
God, in His Word, has told us how to respond. He said, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). God, the Omniscient, has declared that you and your husband are “one flesh.” Do not allow the one who was a murderer and a deceiver, from the beginning, to rob, steal and kill yet again. What God hath joined together let no man or demon put asunder. Your war is not against the flesh and blood of your husband. It is against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Yeah, I’m not the easiest guy to live with. Yeah, I have taken her through a lot. But never, no never have I taken a major step without first bathing it in prayer and getting God’s answer. Never, no never have I wanted anything less than the absolute best for my best friend, my helpmate, my wife. Never, no never have I done anything to betray my love’s trust. Never, no never have I tried to crush the gifts that God has blessed her with. Never, no never has my love for her waned or wandered. And with the Holy Spirit to strengthen me, I never, no never will.
Lisa, I don’t know if only two or two million eyes will ever read this post. But I unabashedly declare to you my undying, unyielding and irrepressible love to you. If ever this should change then may my tongue be cleaved to the roof of my mouth and my left hand lose its cunning for naught but Almighty God, Himself, shall ever be able to cleave me from you.
To you other ladies out there . . . remember if your husband is saved, God calls him a “righteous” man. The sovereign God of the universe says that He is ordering your husband’s footsteps. So if bruh’man comes home one day and says: “Babe, we’re moving to New Zealand” or “I think we should get the 72-inch plasma HDTV” and you know that he’s a man of prayer, try giving him the benefit of the doubt. After all, Sarah didn’t make it to the “Faith Hall of Fame” by rolling her neck and watching “Oprah.” As long as he is not asking you to sell your body, knock over a liquor store or cheer for the Boston Red Sox, he ‘s not leading you into sin. Just think about this, do you want to be the one who got in the way of the steps of a righteous man whose steps were being ordered by the LORD?
Keith
B.L.B.B!
Be Like the Bereans, Baby!
P.S. To the end that we professing Christians may walk our talk, I leave you with some poetry. I have held this poem near and dear to my heart ever since that dark and crisp night of March 5, 1983 when I crossed the burning sands of
Omega Psi Phi. Enjoy!
Live Your Creed
I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one any day.
I'd rather one walk with me than just to show the way.
The eye is a better pupil and more willing than the ear.
Advice may be misleading but examples are always clear.
And the very best of teachers are the ones who live their creed,
For to see good put into action is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn to do it if you let me see it done.
I can watch your hand in motion but your tongue too fast may run
And the lectures you deliver may be very fine and true
But I'd rather get my lesson by observing what you do.
For I may misunderstand you and the fine advice you give
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
SIN 2007: WHY DIDN'T GOD ALLOW THIS to HAPPEN to US?
I think it's pretty safe to say that by now most of us have heard about the horrific events that took place at Virginia Tech this past Monday. My prayers are with all the families of the victims as well as the family of the killer. More specifically, I have prayed that the God of All comfort would indeed comfort these sorely bereaved families in the wake of this senseless act. I also pray that those among these families who have saving faith in Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior and rest in the assurance of dwelling eternally with that very same God, will so intimately know His comfort that they will in turn so shine and glorify God that the unsaved families will at last find hope and comfort. I have prayed that a "peace that surpasses all understanding" among these believers will stand out in such stark contrast to all the despair that the media is promoting that hearts related and unrelated to the victims and their families will be convicted and effectually called. I have prayed that, as is His modus operandi, God will take this heinous, vile act and turn it around for His own glory and the salvation of many.
I also pray that it will give those of us, who have been thus far spared of such a fate pause to consider,"why didn't God allow this to happen to us"? I realize that a question of this nature is counter-intuitive. We naturally ask the more common questions, "why did God allow this to happen" or "where was God when this happened"? Indeed, this event brings into focus, once again, "the problem of evil". Men who were and are of far greater preeminence than myself have tackled this problem with little ultimate success. What little I have to offer is this and it is in no wise original: the "problem" is not the existence of evil, the "problem" is the existence of any "good" in this fallen world.
The LORD Jesus gives us, in Luke 13:1-5, the perspective that we who have been spared tragedies such as Virginia Tech, Colombine or 9/11 should have. Jesus was, for all intents and purposes, asked: "where was God when Pilate mingled the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices" and "why did God allow the tower in Siloam fall on and kill eighteen people"? Jesus didn't give a sermon on the "problem of evil" or provide a thesis regarding God's ultimate intentions for these events. Jesus responded with His own penetrating question: "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way . . . or those on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem"? He answered for them twice, "No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish".
Why didn't God allow this to happen to us? We are all guilty of sin (cosmic treason and rebellion) against a Holy God. A Holy God, who in order to be true to His own holy nature MUST punish sin. Who are we in His sight without Jesus? The Apostle Paul describes us: "They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know the decree of God, that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them" (Romans 1:29-32). Earlier Paul charges us with suppressing the truth of God in our unrighteousness. He exposes our guilt saying that we are without excuse because we do know that God exists from creation alone; yet although we know God we do not honor Him as God and rebelliously turn to worship idols of our own creation. I challenge you to study the first chapter of Romans again. Do it while sitting in front of a mirror . . . ouch!
Indeed, it is truly a testament to the mercy and grace of God that there aren't Virginia Techs, Colombines and 9/11's every hour. We deserve worse, BUT thanks be unto God for His Son Jesus Christ!!! Yes, these tragedies strike Christians and non-Christians alike, for all of us are citizens of a sin sick world. The difference, however, is that those who have received God's gift of saving faith in the LORD Jesus Christ live on eternally in the massacre-free, terrorist-free, sickness-free, death-free loving presence of the Almighty Invincible Holy Triune God of All comfort. With Him there will be no more death, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore (Rev 21:4).
There is another ending, however, for the unbeliever. Having rejected the mercy of God as displayed in Jesus, the unbeliever freely chooses to receive the justice of God. Without the atoning blood of Jesus to expiate the sin guilt of the unbeliever, a Holy and Just God must punish that sinner, if indeed He is holy and just. The one who faces death, either violently or in the peace of sleep, not having accepted God's gift will enter an eternity of unending conscious torment, a place the Bible calls, "Hell". The horrific experience of this place will dwarf the total combined suffering and evil of the entire existence of planet Earth.
What do these two outcomes have in common? In both, by displaying His mercy and grace or by displaying His justice and wrath, God is glorified! Amen!
That leaves us who have been spared, thus far, from tragedies like last Monday with a decision to make. "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31). I've made my choice, how about you?
Keith,
B.L.B.B!
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
P.S. I received an e-mail containing a video which seemed truly appropriate at a time such as this. I would like to share it with you for your consideration.
www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.646
I think it's pretty safe to say that by now most of us have heard about the horrific events that took place at Virginia Tech this past Monday. My prayers are with all the families of the victims as well as the family of the killer. More specifically, I have prayed that the God of All comfort would indeed comfort these sorely bereaved families in the wake of this senseless act. I also pray that those among these families who have saving faith in Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior and rest in the assurance of dwelling eternally with that very same God, will so intimately know His comfort that they will in turn so shine and glorify God that the unsaved families will at last find hope and comfort. I have prayed that a "peace that surpasses all understanding" among these believers will stand out in such stark contrast to all the despair that the media is promoting that hearts related and unrelated to the victims and their families will be convicted and effectually called. I have prayed that, as is His modus operandi, God will take this heinous, vile act and turn it around for His own glory and the salvation of many.
I also pray that it will give those of us, who have been thus far spared of such a fate pause to consider,"why didn't God allow this to happen to us"? I realize that a question of this nature is counter-intuitive. We naturally ask the more common questions, "why did God allow this to happen" or "where was God when this happened"? Indeed, this event brings into focus, once again, "the problem of evil". Men who were and are of far greater preeminence than myself have tackled this problem with little ultimate success. What little I have to offer is this and it is in no wise original: the "problem" is not the existence of evil, the "problem" is the existence of any "good" in this fallen world.
The LORD Jesus gives us, in Luke 13:1-5, the perspective that we who have been spared tragedies such as Virginia Tech, Colombine or 9/11 should have. Jesus was, for all intents and purposes, asked: "where was God when Pilate mingled the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices" and "why did God allow the tower in Siloam fall on and kill eighteen people"? Jesus didn't give a sermon on the "problem of evil" or provide a thesis regarding God's ultimate intentions for these events. Jesus responded with His own penetrating question: "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way . . . or those on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem"? He answered for them twice, "No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish".
Why didn't God allow this to happen to us? We are all guilty of sin (cosmic treason and rebellion) against a Holy God. A Holy God, who in order to be true to His own holy nature MUST punish sin. Who are we in His sight without Jesus? The Apostle Paul describes us: "They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know the decree of God, that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them" (Romans 1:29-32). Earlier Paul charges us with suppressing the truth of God in our unrighteousness. He exposes our guilt saying that we are without excuse because we do know that God exists from creation alone; yet although we know God we do not honor Him as God and rebelliously turn to worship idols of our own creation. I challenge you to study the first chapter of Romans again. Do it while sitting in front of a mirror . . . ouch!
Indeed, it is truly a testament to the mercy and grace of God that there aren't Virginia Techs, Colombines and 9/11's every hour. We deserve worse, BUT thanks be unto God for His Son Jesus Christ!!! Yes, these tragedies strike Christians and non-Christians alike, for all of us are citizens of a sin sick world. The difference, however, is that those who have received God's gift of saving faith in the LORD Jesus Christ live on eternally in the massacre-free, terrorist-free, sickness-free, death-free loving presence of the Almighty Invincible Holy Triune God of All comfort. With Him there will be no more death, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore (Rev 21:4).
There is another ending, however, for the unbeliever. Having rejected the mercy of God as displayed in Jesus, the unbeliever freely chooses to receive the justice of God. Without the atoning blood of Jesus to expiate the sin guilt of the unbeliever, a Holy and Just God must punish that sinner, if indeed He is holy and just. The one who faces death, either violently or in the peace of sleep, not having accepted God's gift will enter an eternity of unending conscious torment, a place the Bible calls, "Hell". The horrific experience of this place will dwarf the total combined suffering and evil of the entire existence of planet Earth.
What do these two outcomes have in common? In both, by displaying His mercy and grace or by displaying His justice and wrath, God is glorified! Amen!
That leaves us who have been spared, thus far, from tragedies like last Monday with a decision to make. "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31). I've made my choice, how about you?
Keith,
B.L.B.B!
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
P.S. I received an e-mail containing a video which seemed truly appropriate at a time such as this. I would like to share it with you for your consideration.
www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.646
Monday, April 02, 2007
Yes Virginia, There are False Teachers
I know many believers who profess a a strong love and dependence on the Bible. In virtually any and every conversation with them reference is always made to some portion of the Scriptures. Many times the passages they refer to are taken out of context, but it at least indicates an understanding that our faith is based on God's revelation of Himself and His will in the Bible. It tells me that, at least, if we come to a topic that is clearly addressed by Scripture, the Bible's instruction on the point should be the authoritative answer that should settle all debate. But, then again, I used to sell Amway products.
One such topic that seems crystal clear to me is that there are, living and breathing today, false teachers. It seems equally clear to me that the Bible makes it clear that there would perpetually be false teachers throughout history. Jesus, Himself, instructed us to, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15 ESV) I looked up the word "beware" in the greek; you know what it said, it said "BEWARE"!!! The arguably clearest evidence that the would be false teachers throughout history comes from the Apostle Paul. In Acts 20:29-30 he states, "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert . . ."(ESV). I asked my 7 year old son, Kyle, about these two passages and he answered my questions about them correctly. This is from a kid who still watches "Spongebob"!
So why do so many credulous Christians, year after year, swallow blatantly false teaching and support false teachers? Here's a shocker . . . I have a few ideas.
1) Pride. I have a sneaking suspicion that many believers do actually know that they have fallen prey to one of those "ravenous wolves" Jesus was talking about; but they are just too proud to admit that they were taken in so easily and for so long. So they are not really that involved where they attend church. They just go because, hey, the pastor puts on a really good show and since they have to go to church anyway they might as well have a good time.
Certainly, they can't let "heresy hunters" like myself prove them wrong. In their minds, they are just as good a judge of character as anybody else and there no way that they could have been duped. Theology is over-rated anyway, and theologians are just a bunch of unloving, divisive, old white men.They can read the Bible for themselves without any help from them, thank you very much! Besides, "them Morton boys sho' can sang"!!!
Being in a position of leadership in a false church also creates quite a hold on the pride victim.
2) Emotional Attachment. Some common traits among false teacher are: they are very charismatic, they tend to be very warm and loving, they are very philanthropic, they had great hardship and/or pain before entering the ministry. These traits tremendously endear them to their congregations. This figured largely in my own case.
When an emotional attachment is in force, a person confronted with the fact that his/her pastor is a false teacher will look for any and every possible loophole to exculpate that pastor. The intense loyalty begotten by these warm fuzzy teddy bear pastors makes all the controverting evidence from their own mouths completely inconsequential. The emotionally attached person while make statements like: "You are taking my pastor out of context,when he said 'men are little gods", "Just because the words 'Jesus was not God' came out of his mouth doesn't mean he believes that" and my personal favorite "he needs that Gulfstream V private jet to spread the gospel".
3) Pragmatism. When you question this person about their Bishop's heretical teachings on the Trinity, he might say, "I found my wife at this church", "My business has flourished since I joined this church", "Pastor said I was going to get a house and I did", "This church has wonderful programs for my kids".
4) Biblical Illiteracy. Yes, these folk read the Bible, but only through the grid that their friendly neighborhood false teacher provides for them. These folks find insights such as: God is a being standing about 6 foot 2 inches tall and weighs about 230lbs(Kenneth Copeland), or each member of the Trinity has His own body, soul and spirit; therefore there are nine of them (Benny Hinn)as absolute revelational gold!!!
For these people "Hermeneutics" might as well be the latest exercise craze from Sweden.
Of course, this doesn't even nearly exhaust the reasons people fail to obey Paul's admonition to avoid these false teachers (Romans 16:17). Instead when " . . . someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we (Paul and the Apostles)proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough" (II Corinthians 11:4).
Yes Virginia, there are false teachers even today. But they don't wear t-shirts that say, "Hi, I'm a false teacher"! Their warmth and charisma are the bait by which the capture the believer. "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds" (II Corinthians 11:13-15).
What does it matter whether it is intentional or not? Your reward in heaven, your witness as a Christian, perhaps your very relationship to the Eternal God of the universe hangs in the balance.
Wake up o sleeper! To the proud: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverb 16:18). "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin"(James 4:17).
To the emotionally attached: " . . .you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength"(Mark 12:30).
To the pragmatist: "'Consider your ways. You have sown much and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns his wages does so to put them into a bag with holes . . . Consider your ways . . . that I may be glorified', says the LORD. You looked for much and behold it came to little. And when you brought it home it blew away. Why, declares the LORD of Hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house"(Haggai 1:5;7-9).
To the biblically illiterate: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . ."(Hosea 4:6). " . . . no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit"(II Peter 1:20-21). "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth"(II Timothy 2:15).
Oh, one last thing. Here's a little something I learned while pledging my frat:
"Excuses
Excuses are the tools of the incompetent.
They build monuments to nothingness.
And he or she that uses them seldom excel at anything at all" Big Brother Sir, roof!
Keith
B.L.B.B!
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
I know many believers who profess a a strong love and dependence on the Bible. In virtually any and every conversation with them reference is always made to some portion of the Scriptures. Many times the passages they refer to are taken out of context, but it at least indicates an understanding that our faith is based on God's revelation of Himself and His will in the Bible. It tells me that, at least, if we come to a topic that is clearly addressed by Scripture, the Bible's instruction on the point should be the authoritative answer that should settle all debate. But, then again, I used to sell Amway products.
One such topic that seems crystal clear to me is that there are, living and breathing today, false teachers. It seems equally clear to me that the Bible makes it clear that there would perpetually be false teachers throughout history. Jesus, Himself, instructed us to, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15 ESV) I looked up the word "beware" in the greek; you know what it said, it said "BEWARE"!!! The arguably clearest evidence that the would be false teachers throughout history comes from the Apostle Paul. In Acts 20:29-30 he states, "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert . . ."(ESV). I asked my 7 year old son, Kyle, about these two passages and he answered my questions about them correctly. This is from a kid who still watches "Spongebob"!
So why do so many credulous Christians, year after year, swallow blatantly false teaching and support false teachers? Here's a shocker . . . I have a few ideas.
1) Pride. I have a sneaking suspicion that many believers do actually know that they have fallen prey to one of those "ravenous wolves" Jesus was talking about; but they are just too proud to admit that they were taken in so easily and for so long. So they are not really that involved where they attend church. They just go because, hey, the pastor puts on a really good show and since they have to go to church anyway they might as well have a good time.
Certainly, they can't let "heresy hunters" like myself prove them wrong. In their minds, they are just as good a judge of character as anybody else and there no way that they could have been duped. Theology is over-rated anyway, and theologians are just a bunch of unloving, divisive, old white men.They can read the Bible for themselves without any help from them, thank you very much! Besides, "them Morton boys sho' can sang"!!!
Being in a position of leadership in a false church also creates quite a hold on the pride victim.
2) Emotional Attachment. Some common traits among false teacher are: they are very charismatic, they tend to be very warm and loving, they are very philanthropic, they had great hardship and/or pain before entering the ministry. These traits tremendously endear them to their congregations. This figured largely in my own case.
When an emotional attachment is in force, a person confronted with the fact that his/her pastor is a false teacher will look for any and every possible loophole to exculpate that pastor. The intense loyalty begotten by these warm fuzzy teddy bear pastors makes all the controverting evidence from their own mouths completely inconsequential. The emotionally attached person while make statements like: "You are taking my pastor out of context,when he said 'men are little gods", "Just because the words 'Jesus was not God' came out of his mouth doesn't mean he believes that" and my personal favorite "he needs that Gulfstream V private jet to spread the gospel".
3) Pragmatism. When you question this person about their Bishop's heretical teachings on the Trinity, he might say, "I found my wife at this church", "My business has flourished since I joined this church", "Pastor said I was going to get a house and I did", "This church has wonderful programs for my kids".
4) Biblical Illiteracy. Yes, these folk read the Bible, but only through the grid that their friendly neighborhood false teacher provides for them. These folks find insights such as: God is a being standing about 6 foot 2 inches tall and weighs about 230lbs(Kenneth Copeland), or each member of the Trinity has His own body, soul and spirit; therefore there are nine of them (Benny Hinn)as absolute revelational gold!!!
For these people "Hermeneutics" might as well be the latest exercise craze from Sweden.
Of course, this doesn't even nearly exhaust the reasons people fail to obey Paul's admonition to avoid these false teachers (Romans 16:17). Instead when " . . . someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we (Paul and the Apostles)proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough" (II Corinthians 11:4).
Yes Virginia, there are false teachers even today. But they don't wear t-shirts that say, "Hi, I'm a false teacher"! Their warmth and charisma are the bait by which the capture the believer. "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds" (II Corinthians 11:13-15).
What does it matter whether it is intentional or not? Your reward in heaven, your witness as a Christian, perhaps your very relationship to the Eternal God of the universe hangs in the balance.
Wake up o sleeper! To the proud: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverb 16:18). "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin"(James 4:17).
To the emotionally attached: " . . .you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength"(Mark 12:30).
To the pragmatist: "'Consider your ways. You have sown much and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns his wages does so to put them into a bag with holes . . . Consider your ways . . . that I may be glorified', says the LORD. You looked for much and behold it came to little. And when you brought it home it blew away. Why, declares the LORD of Hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house"(Haggai 1:5;7-9).
To the biblically illiterate: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . ."(Hosea 4:6). " . . . no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit"(II Peter 1:20-21). "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth"(II Timothy 2:15).
Oh, one last thing. Here's a little something I learned while pledging my frat:
"Excuses
Excuses are the tools of the incompetent.
They build monuments to nothingness.
And he or she that uses them seldom excel at anything at all" Big Brother Sir, roof!
Keith
B.L.B.B!
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Babies, Bathwater and Knowing the Difference
My friend Melvin Jones on his blog "Pulpit Pimps" (see post: "We Stand on the Shoulders of Giants - The Other Side of the Coin" www.pulipit-pimps.org) has an open discussion about the necessity of seminary training for teachers of God's Word. Many are weighing in on both sides of the issue. A recurring theme for those who don't believe seminary training is beneficial seems to be the idea that the mind is at best unnecessary and at worst a hindrance to the faithful following of Jesus Christ. The idea seems to say, "just leave it up to the Holy Spirit".
Well, I have some definite problems with that mentality, but I won't flatter myself by giving you my limited insight to the truth in this matter. I put it the hands of someone I believe to be both experientially and intellectually grounded in this faith "once for all delivered to the saints": Dr. Robert Charles Sproul.
Doctrine and Life
Not doctrine, but life—that is what really matters. This is a sentiment often expressed in Christian circles. The idea is simple: God is less concerned about what we believe than He is about how we live. Creeds and dogma are unimportant. What matters is outward behavior. Orthopraxy, not orthodoxy is what counts. We may more completely please God with right behavior than with right thinking.
This is a false dilemma with perilous consequences. Right thinking and right living go together. We may distinguish them, but to separate them is deadly. We can have right theories without right practice. We can also have right practice without right theory, but only by accident as a happy inconsistency.
The disparaging of doctrine usually follows a common pattern. We begin by recognizing that there are people who have all the correct theological answers but who live scandalous lives. The Devil can make a high score on a theology test. It was the demons who first recognized Jesus as the Son of God before the disciples did, but the demons hated the truth they recognized so clearly. There are many people who know truth about God but who are living lives that could not possibly please God.
The Leaders' Treason
There is a deep suspicion in the Christian community about theology, especially academic theology, and for good reason. The church has experienced what one scholar called “the treason of the intellectual.” Much of the skepticism leveled against biblical Christianity has come from within the church. It was the church's theologians who declared the death of God. It is the theological seminaries that attack the trustworthiness of Scripture.
I remember my own rude awakening as a first–year seminary student. I was shocked to hear one of my professors not only deny the deity of Christ but attack it with a tone of hostility. I might have been less shocked had the professor expressed a deep personal crisis of faith in which he no longer could embrace the biblical faith. Had he made this confession with tears and a broken heart, I could have understood it. But his denial was couched in a kind of militancy against the biblical view of Jesus.
When I raised questions about this to him, my professor glared at me and said, “Young man, you have come to seminary with too many preconceived ideas.” The preconceived idea for which I was rebuked was the belief in the deity of Christ.
I was bewildered. I naively assumed that everybody who went to a Christian seminary to prepare for the Christian ministry was already convinced of the deity of Christ. I couldn't imagine any other reason to be there. When I called attention to the fact that the creeds of our church clearly affirm the deity of Christ, the man replied (in private), “The orthodox creeds are full of ——.” (He did not delete the expletive.)
Countless college students have had similar experiences with professors at church–related colleges. A natural reaction to the pain and shock of this kind of skepticism is to retreat into a nonintellectual haven of faith. The seductive temptation is to think, If this is what academic theology produces, then who needs it? I'm going to keep my faith simple and avoid any involvement with theology.
We must not assume that because someone is a theological scholar that he is a Christian. We may not assume that because someone is an ordained minister he is necessarily a Christian. Sadly, there are many people who enter the ministry for the wrong reasons. Some make theological skepticism a profession. There are those who are motivated to study Christian theology out of a burning desire to disprove, neutralize, or change Christianity. Natural man has enough enmity toward God to make a lifelong crusade against Him. There is an enemy within the church.
We have heard enough testimonies from clergy who declare they have been converted after their ordination to know that many are in fact ordained in unbelief. American colonial pastor Gilbert Tennent once wrote an essay entitled “The Dangers of an Unconverted Clergy.” Tennent was not merely crying wolf. There are wolves out there in sheep's clothing. They masquerade as men and women of God while inwardly being at war with God. That is nothing new. We remember that the most hostile group toward Jesus in His earthly life was the clergy of his day, the scribes and the Pharisees.
People seek ordination for all sorts of reasons. One reason is to legitimatize their unbelief. Another reason, as we have seen, is to work against Christ from within. And there are many who are genuine humanitarians who see the church as a marvelous institution of social concern. Where else can a person find such a well–established platform for community influence?
When a businessman moves into a new community he must work hard at establishing new relationships. If he is to rise to a position of community prominence and influence, he must face the reality that it takes time and effort to do it. When a new minister comes to town he instantly steps into a position of community leadership. The influence of the local church may be waning, but it is still a reality. The minister has an instant platform from which to exert influence. He has a pulpit. He has a congregation. He has a church program. The wages may not be the best, but the opportunities for exerting influence and community leadership are great. A pulpit beats a soapbox for those motivated to persuade people to their own viewpoints.
There are other factors that play a role, and some are painful to relate. One ignoble motivation was felt sharply in the sixties. Seminary enrollment brought with it a deferment from the military draft. Some students were quite candid about it. A three–year tour of seminary seemed a better option than a tour of duty in Vietnam or exile to Canada.
But we dare not paint the whole house with the same brush. The vast majority of clergy are in the ministry out of a sincere desire to serve God. There are lots of sheep in sheep's clothing. Indeed, they are more than sheep; they are shepherds. These pastors love God and they love their people. With all their failings, they still try to please God and to lead other people to do so.
The Need For Doctrine
The church needs dedicated pastors. It also needs dedicated teachers of theology. The church has always benefited greatly from the work of sound theologians. I return again and again to the insights of Augustine, the cogency of Thomas Aquinas, the brilliance of Calvin, the passion of Luther. These men feed my mind and my soul.
We all need good teachers. I know that I cannot do without them. But how do we find them? What are the marks of a good teacher of theology?
Finding good teachers is like finding a good doctor. We want a doctor who knows what he is doing and who is a person we can trust with our bodies. If the doctor is warm and kind but doesn't know medicine, we are in deep trouble. It is small consolation to me if he holds my hand while he injects the wrong medicine into my bloodstream.
On the other hand, there are highly skilled professional physicians who have little personal regard for their patients. They know how to treat diseases but don't know how to treat people.
If possible, I want a doctor who is a master of medical knowledge and who will also value me as a person. Medically, that is the best of all possible worlds.
In theology we need teachers who display a high degree of skill and knowledge coupled with a deep love for God. Loving God is not a prejudicial barrier to a correct understanding of the things of God. On the contrary. A heart that is disposed toward God will only enhance the theologian's knowledge of God.
Professor G. C. Berkouwer of the Free University of Amsterdam once remarked in class, “Gentlemen, all great theologians begin and end their work with doxology!” Doxology—the writings of the great masters breathe a spirit of doxology. Their work goes beyond analysis and exposition to praise. Read the works of the apostle Paul, the premier theologian of the church. In the midst of his heaviest treatment of election he interrupts the flow of his thought to exclaim, “O the depths and the riches of His mercy!” (Romans 11:33).
We find that same spirit of doxology in the giants of church history. We can't miss it in Augustine, Athanasius, Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and Edwards, to mention the finest. None of these is infallible. We can find points of disagreement among them. Yet there is a remarkable and profound unity among them regarding the essential doctrines of the faith. Hear what C. S. Lewis once observed:
In the days when I still hated Christianity, I learned to recognize, like some all too familiar smell, that almost unvarying something which met me, now in Puritan Bunyan, now in Anglican Hooker, now in Thomist Dante. It was there (honeyed and floral) in Francois de Sales; it was there (grave and homely) in Spenser and Walton; it was there (grim and manful) in Pascal and Johnson; there again, with a mild frightening, Paradisial flavor, in Vaughan and Boehme and Traherne. In the urban sobriety of the eighteenth century one was not safe—Law and Butler were two lions in the path. The supposed “Paganism” of the Elizabethans could not keep it out; it lay in wait where a man might have supposed himself safest, in the very centre of The Faerie Queene and the Arcadia. It was, of course, varied; and yet—after all—so unmistakably the same; recognizable, not to be evaded, the odour which, is death to us until we allow it to become life. *
Now read the works of twentieth–century critical theologian Rudolf Bultmann. Bultmann displays an uncanny technical erudition. His critical skills are noteworthy. Yet it would require the lamp of Diogenes to find a single note of doxology in all his writings. That should tell us something. We do well to wonder if a man who cannot praise God is going to please God with his vast learning.
We still face the dilemma of a vast public fear of theology. At times I have been critical of Christian bookstores. So much of what sells as teaching is theologically weak. It is often not only simple (which is a virtue) but simplistic (which is a harmful vice). There is much doxology, but little theology. Some literature found in Christian bookstores manifests a serious ignorance of orthodox theology. It is simply bad teaching. It is well–intentioned bad teaching. But it is still bad teaching.
For me to criticize Christian bookstores and Christian publishers is to bite the hand that feeds me. But if that hand is feeding harmful food to Christ's sheep then somebody needs to bite it.
I have pleaded with booksellers and publishers to promote the writings of the great masters. The usual response is that the great masters don't sell well to the general public. I still plead. I'm convinced that if the industry promoted the classics, the classics would sell.
I once ordered John Murray's Principles of Conduct for a seminary course. The publisher notified me that it was out of print. I pitched a fit. I begged the publisher to reprint it, even offering to raise the finances necessary to do it. The book was too important to allow it to slip into publishing purgatory. To my great joy the publisher relented and issued a new edition.
I would be delighted to see bookstores bury all my books in the basement or put them to the torch if they would replace them with the works of Luther, Augustine, Edwards, and the rest. What do I know that I haven't learned from them? The only difference between them and me is that their work is better thought out and much better written. I am sure that James Boice, J. I. Packer, Charles Colson, and a host of contemporary writers would say the same thing. We are at best dwarfs. standing on the shoulders of the giants.
We need sound doctrine. The Spirit of holiness is also the Spirit of truth. Truth and righteousness go together. True living flows out of true thinking. Our lives can change externally without changing internally. All that achieves is to qualify us to be Pharisees. The Spirit goes to the root of the matter.
It is good trees that produce good fruit. It is the transformed mind that yields a transformed life. How we think about God is the most vital influence to how we respond to God. Repentance itself is a change of mind before it ever yields a change of behavior.
We must reject a false dichotomy between doctrine and life. We can have sound doctrine without a sanctified life. But it is extremely difficult to progress in sanctification without sound doctrine. Sound doctrine is not a sufficient condition to produce a sound life. It does not yield sanctification automatically. Sound doctrine is a necessary condition for sanctification. It is a vital prerequisite. It is like oxygen and fire. The mere presence of oxygen does not guarantee a fire, but you can't have a fire without it.
Consciousness, Conviction, Conscience
Why? Why is sound doctrine necessary for sanctification? For real sanctification to occur in the Christian life at least three absolute changes are necessary. There must be a change in our consciousness. There must be a change in our convictions. There must be a change in our conscience. Consciousness, conviction, and conscience—these three are all vital to our sanctification.
Consciousness involves knowledge. Before we can willfully do what God commands and what pleases Him, we must first understand what it is that God requires. From the Law comes a knowledge of sin. Also from the Law comes a knowledge of righteousness.
A person could “accidentally” obey the law without doing so consciously. But such an action would have no moral virtue to it. Suppose a man enjoys driving his car at fifty miles an hour. It pleases him to ride at that rate of speed. He drives his car at fifty miles an hour in fifty–five–mile–per–hour zones and in fifteen–mile–per–hour zones. When he drives in the fifty–five–mile–per–hour zone, he is within the speed limit. He is obeying the law. But when he goes fifty in a fifteen–mile–per–hour–zone, he is a menace to those around him.
Suppose our mythical driver systematically refuses to look at speed limit signs. He averts his gaze from any sign that even appears to mark a speed limit. He keeps himself purposefully unconscious of speed limits. At times he “happens” to obey the law, but purely by coincidence. If the man wants to achieve moral virtue as a driver and always drive within the speed limit, he must first become aware, he must become conscious of the law.
But consciousness is not enough. We all have seen people who are quite conscious of the speed limits while they are violating them. We don't have to look beyond ourselves to discover the culprits. For our behavior to change we must move beyond consciousness to conviction.
Conviction is a matter of depth and intensity. It is one thing to be aware that a certain action is right. It is another to have a conviction about it. It is a lot easier for us to compromise our knowledge than to act against convictions. A conviction is knowledge that is settled. It has a firm hold on us. It goes beyond our brains and penetrates the conscience.
Our conscience acts as a kind of governor upon our behavior. It is the inner voice that either accuses us or excuses us. It monitors our behavior by way of approval or disapproval. The problem is that our conscience doesn't always tell us the truth. We are adept at training it in the direction of self–approval.
It is hard to live with a guilty conscience. Guilt feelings paralyze us. They can produce literal nausea. They can provoke psychosomatic illnesses. When we are assaulted by a guilty conscience we can change our behavior or change our consciences. We can sear the conscience. We can dull its accusing tone by rationalization.
By repeating sins over and over again we can mute the inner voice of conscience. We fall into the decadence described by Paul in Romans 1 whereby we not only continue in sin but encourage others to join us in it.
Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:32
Recently, I watched a segment of the Phil Donahue show that featured an interview of actors and actresses who starred in pornographic movies. The film players insisted that (a) they felt no guilt and (b) they had high standards because they refused to participate in radical sexual violence or in the sexual exploitation of children. They had a conscience about violence and child exploitation which “excused” their lack of conscience in other areas.
The porn actors justified their behavior by appealing to the fact that they avoided more heinous sexual behavior than their own. Their remarks were a consummate display of self–deceit, whereby they casually called evil good. They played on a distinction between bad and worse. They considered their own evil good because it was not worse. Here wickedness was relativized so that their own conscience could excuse them.
This game is played on more stages than those that are X–rated. As long as I can point to some worse evil than my own, I can flatter myself with a distorted view of virtue and vice.
For the conscience to function in a godly way it must be influenced by godly convictions. To gain godly consciences, our consciousness of what is right and what is wrong must be sharpened. This involves the mind. It is a matter of doctrine.
Doctrine comes from the Word of God. The Word addresses our consciousness. It is given for our understanding. The Word engages the mind, not the elbow. The Word is the Spirit's book. The Holy Spirit inspires the Scriptures. He is the Revealer of truth.
But the Spirit's work does not stop in the inspiring of Scripture. The Spirit illumines the Word and applies the Word to us:
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one know the things of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10–11
I once heard Dr. David Hubbard, president of Fuller Theological Seminary speak on this text. Dr. Hubbard explained the meaning of the Spirit's searching the things of God. Human beings search after things they do not have or do not know. The Holy Spirit is not an ignorant member of the Godhead who is desperately seeking to discover the truth of God. The Holy Spirit is God. All that the father knows the Spirit already knows does not need to search after it.
Rather, the text refers to the Spirit's work of illumination for us. It is as though the Spirit puts a searchlight on the Word of God to help us see what is already there. He is assisting us in our search for understanding.
The Spirit is sent to instruct us and to convict us. He applies the intensity of knowledge that is conviction. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit for this purpose:
Nevertheless I tell You the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go a away, the Helper will not come to You; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of Judgment. John 16:7–8
The progress from a changed consciousness to a changed conviction to a changed conscience is directed by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit works with the Word. He does not work against the Word or without the Word.
The Word and Spirit go together. Doctrine and life go together. The will and the mind go together. To separate them is to frustrate the work of sanctification within us and to grieve the Holy Spirit. To separate them is to avoid the integrated, committed life that pleases God.
"Wisdom calls aloud in the street; She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out from the top of the walls, at the openings of the gates in the city . . ."
Proverbs 1:20-21
Keith
B.L.B.B!
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
The above exerpt is from "Pleasing God"; chapter 14 "Doctrine and Life", by
R.C. Sproul, 1988
My friend Melvin Jones on his blog "Pulpit Pimps" (see post: "We Stand on the Shoulders of Giants - The Other Side of the Coin" www.pulipit-pimps.org) has an open discussion about the necessity of seminary training for teachers of God's Word. Many are weighing in on both sides of the issue. A recurring theme for those who don't believe seminary training is beneficial seems to be the idea that the mind is at best unnecessary and at worst a hindrance to the faithful following of Jesus Christ. The idea seems to say, "just leave it up to the Holy Spirit".
Well, I have some definite problems with that mentality, but I won't flatter myself by giving you my limited insight to the truth in this matter. I put it the hands of someone I believe to be both experientially and intellectually grounded in this faith "once for all delivered to the saints": Dr. Robert Charles Sproul.
Doctrine and Life
Not doctrine, but life—that is what really matters. This is a sentiment often expressed in Christian circles. The idea is simple: God is less concerned about what we believe than He is about how we live. Creeds and dogma are unimportant. What matters is outward behavior. Orthopraxy, not orthodoxy is what counts. We may more completely please God with right behavior than with right thinking.
This is a false dilemma with perilous consequences. Right thinking and right living go together. We may distinguish them, but to separate them is deadly. We can have right theories without right practice. We can also have right practice without right theory, but only by accident as a happy inconsistency.
The disparaging of doctrine usually follows a common pattern. We begin by recognizing that there are people who have all the correct theological answers but who live scandalous lives. The Devil can make a high score on a theology test. It was the demons who first recognized Jesus as the Son of God before the disciples did, but the demons hated the truth they recognized so clearly. There are many people who know truth about God but who are living lives that could not possibly please God.
The Leaders' Treason
There is a deep suspicion in the Christian community about theology, especially academic theology, and for good reason. The church has experienced what one scholar called “the treason of the intellectual.” Much of the skepticism leveled against biblical Christianity has come from within the church. It was the church's theologians who declared the death of God. It is the theological seminaries that attack the trustworthiness of Scripture.
I remember my own rude awakening as a first–year seminary student. I was shocked to hear one of my professors not only deny the deity of Christ but attack it with a tone of hostility. I might have been less shocked had the professor expressed a deep personal crisis of faith in which he no longer could embrace the biblical faith. Had he made this confession with tears and a broken heart, I could have understood it. But his denial was couched in a kind of militancy against the biblical view of Jesus.
When I raised questions about this to him, my professor glared at me and said, “Young man, you have come to seminary with too many preconceived ideas.” The preconceived idea for which I was rebuked was the belief in the deity of Christ.
I was bewildered. I naively assumed that everybody who went to a Christian seminary to prepare for the Christian ministry was already convinced of the deity of Christ. I couldn't imagine any other reason to be there. When I called attention to the fact that the creeds of our church clearly affirm the deity of Christ, the man replied (in private), “The orthodox creeds are full of ——.” (He did not delete the expletive.)
Countless college students have had similar experiences with professors at church–related colleges. A natural reaction to the pain and shock of this kind of skepticism is to retreat into a nonintellectual haven of faith. The seductive temptation is to think, If this is what academic theology produces, then who needs it? I'm going to keep my faith simple and avoid any involvement with theology.
We must not assume that because someone is a theological scholar that he is a Christian. We may not assume that because someone is an ordained minister he is necessarily a Christian. Sadly, there are many people who enter the ministry for the wrong reasons. Some make theological skepticism a profession. There are those who are motivated to study Christian theology out of a burning desire to disprove, neutralize, or change Christianity. Natural man has enough enmity toward God to make a lifelong crusade against Him. There is an enemy within the church.
We have heard enough testimonies from clergy who declare they have been converted after their ordination to know that many are in fact ordained in unbelief. American colonial pastor Gilbert Tennent once wrote an essay entitled “The Dangers of an Unconverted Clergy.” Tennent was not merely crying wolf. There are wolves out there in sheep's clothing. They masquerade as men and women of God while inwardly being at war with God. That is nothing new. We remember that the most hostile group toward Jesus in His earthly life was the clergy of his day, the scribes and the Pharisees.
People seek ordination for all sorts of reasons. One reason is to legitimatize their unbelief. Another reason, as we have seen, is to work against Christ from within. And there are many who are genuine humanitarians who see the church as a marvelous institution of social concern. Where else can a person find such a well–established platform for community influence?
When a businessman moves into a new community he must work hard at establishing new relationships. If he is to rise to a position of community prominence and influence, he must face the reality that it takes time and effort to do it. When a new minister comes to town he instantly steps into a position of community leadership. The influence of the local church may be waning, but it is still a reality. The minister has an instant platform from which to exert influence. He has a pulpit. He has a congregation. He has a church program. The wages may not be the best, but the opportunities for exerting influence and community leadership are great. A pulpit beats a soapbox for those motivated to persuade people to their own viewpoints.
There are other factors that play a role, and some are painful to relate. One ignoble motivation was felt sharply in the sixties. Seminary enrollment brought with it a deferment from the military draft. Some students were quite candid about it. A three–year tour of seminary seemed a better option than a tour of duty in Vietnam or exile to Canada.
But we dare not paint the whole house with the same brush. The vast majority of clergy are in the ministry out of a sincere desire to serve God. There are lots of sheep in sheep's clothing. Indeed, they are more than sheep; they are shepherds. These pastors love God and they love their people. With all their failings, they still try to please God and to lead other people to do so.
The Need For Doctrine
The church needs dedicated pastors. It also needs dedicated teachers of theology. The church has always benefited greatly from the work of sound theologians. I return again and again to the insights of Augustine, the cogency of Thomas Aquinas, the brilliance of Calvin, the passion of Luther. These men feed my mind and my soul.
We all need good teachers. I know that I cannot do without them. But how do we find them? What are the marks of a good teacher of theology?
Finding good teachers is like finding a good doctor. We want a doctor who knows what he is doing and who is a person we can trust with our bodies. If the doctor is warm and kind but doesn't know medicine, we are in deep trouble. It is small consolation to me if he holds my hand while he injects the wrong medicine into my bloodstream.
On the other hand, there are highly skilled professional physicians who have little personal regard for their patients. They know how to treat diseases but don't know how to treat people.
If possible, I want a doctor who is a master of medical knowledge and who will also value me as a person. Medically, that is the best of all possible worlds.
In theology we need teachers who display a high degree of skill and knowledge coupled with a deep love for God. Loving God is not a prejudicial barrier to a correct understanding of the things of God. On the contrary. A heart that is disposed toward God will only enhance the theologian's knowledge of God.
Professor G. C. Berkouwer of the Free University of Amsterdam once remarked in class, “Gentlemen, all great theologians begin and end their work with doxology!” Doxology—the writings of the great masters breathe a spirit of doxology. Their work goes beyond analysis and exposition to praise. Read the works of the apostle Paul, the premier theologian of the church. In the midst of his heaviest treatment of election he interrupts the flow of his thought to exclaim, “O the depths and the riches of His mercy!” (Romans 11:33).
We find that same spirit of doxology in the giants of church history. We can't miss it in Augustine, Athanasius, Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and Edwards, to mention the finest. None of these is infallible. We can find points of disagreement among them. Yet there is a remarkable and profound unity among them regarding the essential doctrines of the faith. Hear what C. S. Lewis once observed:
In the days when I still hated Christianity, I learned to recognize, like some all too familiar smell, that almost unvarying something which met me, now in Puritan Bunyan, now in Anglican Hooker, now in Thomist Dante. It was there (honeyed and floral) in Francois de Sales; it was there (grave and homely) in Spenser and Walton; it was there (grim and manful) in Pascal and Johnson; there again, with a mild frightening, Paradisial flavor, in Vaughan and Boehme and Traherne. In the urban sobriety of the eighteenth century one was not safe—Law and Butler were two lions in the path. The supposed “Paganism” of the Elizabethans could not keep it out; it lay in wait where a man might have supposed himself safest, in the very centre of The Faerie Queene and the Arcadia. It was, of course, varied; and yet—after all—so unmistakably the same; recognizable, not to be evaded, the odour which, is death to us until we allow it to become life. *
Now read the works of twentieth–century critical theologian Rudolf Bultmann. Bultmann displays an uncanny technical erudition. His critical skills are noteworthy. Yet it would require the lamp of Diogenes to find a single note of doxology in all his writings. That should tell us something. We do well to wonder if a man who cannot praise God is going to please God with his vast learning.
We still face the dilemma of a vast public fear of theology. At times I have been critical of Christian bookstores. So much of what sells as teaching is theologically weak. It is often not only simple (which is a virtue) but simplistic (which is a harmful vice). There is much doxology, but little theology. Some literature found in Christian bookstores manifests a serious ignorance of orthodox theology. It is simply bad teaching. It is well–intentioned bad teaching. But it is still bad teaching.
For me to criticize Christian bookstores and Christian publishers is to bite the hand that feeds me. But if that hand is feeding harmful food to Christ's sheep then somebody needs to bite it.
I have pleaded with booksellers and publishers to promote the writings of the great masters. The usual response is that the great masters don't sell well to the general public. I still plead. I'm convinced that if the industry promoted the classics, the classics would sell.
I once ordered John Murray's Principles of Conduct for a seminary course. The publisher notified me that it was out of print. I pitched a fit. I begged the publisher to reprint it, even offering to raise the finances necessary to do it. The book was too important to allow it to slip into publishing purgatory. To my great joy the publisher relented and issued a new edition.
I would be delighted to see bookstores bury all my books in the basement or put them to the torch if they would replace them with the works of Luther, Augustine, Edwards, and the rest. What do I know that I haven't learned from them? The only difference between them and me is that their work is better thought out and much better written. I am sure that James Boice, J. I. Packer, Charles Colson, and a host of contemporary writers would say the same thing. We are at best dwarfs. standing on the shoulders of the giants.
We need sound doctrine. The Spirit of holiness is also the Spirit of truth. Truth and righteousness go together. True living flows out of true thinking. Our lives can change externally without changing internally. All that achieves is to qualify us to be Pharisees. The Spirit goes to the root of the matter.
It is good trees that produce good fruit. It is the transformed mind that yields a transformed life. How we think about God is the most vital influence to how we respond to God. Repentance itself is a change of mind before it ever yields a change of behavior.
We must reject a false dichotomy between doctrine and life. We can have sound doctrine without a sanctified life. But it is extremely difficult to progress in sanctification without sound doctrine. Sound doctrine is not a sufficient condition to produce a sound life. It does not yield sanctification automatically. Sound doctrine is a necessary condition for sanctification. It is a vital prerequisite. It is like oxygen and fire. The mere presence of oxygen does not guarantee a fire, but you can't have a fire without it.
Consciousness, Conviction, Conscience
Why? Why is sound doctrine necessary for sanctification? For real sanctification to occur in the Christian life at least three absolute changes are necessary. There must be a change in our consciousness. There must be a change in our convictions. There must be a change in our conscience. Consciousness, conviction, and conscience—these three are all vital to our sanctification.
Consciousness involves knowledge. Before we can willfully do what God commands and what pleases Him, we must first understand what it is that God requires. From the Law comes a knowledge of sin. Also from the Law comes a knowledge of righteousness.
A person could “accidentally” obey the law without doing so consciously. But such an action would have no moral virtue to it. Suppose a man enjoys driving his car at fifty miles an hour. It pleases him to ride at that rate of speed. He drives his car at fifty miles an hour in fifty–five–mile–per–hour zones and in fifteen–mile–per–hour zones. When he drives in the fifty–five–mile–per–hour zone, he is within the speed limit. He is obeying the law. But when he goes fifty in a fifteen–mile–per–hour–zone, he is a menace to those around him.
Suppose our mythical driver systematically refuses to look at speed limit signs. He averts his gaze from any sign that even appears to mark a speed limit. He keeps himself purposefully unconscious of speed limits. At times he “happens” to obey the law, but purely by coincidence. If the man wants to achieve moral virtue as a driver and always drive within the speed limit, he must first become aware, he must become conscious of the law.
But consciousness is not enough. We all have seen people who are quite conscious of the speed limits while they are violating them. We don't have to look beyond ourselves to discover the culprits. For our behavior to change we must move beyond consciousness to conviction.
Conviction is a matter of depth and intensity. It is one thing to be aware that a certain action is right. It is another to have a conviction about it. It is a lot easier for us to compromise our knowledge than to act against convictions. A conviction is knowledge that is settled. It has a firm hold on us. It goes beyond our brains and penetrates the conscience.
Our conscience acts as a kind of governor upon our behavior. It is the inner voice that either accuses us or excuses us. It monitors our behavior by way of approval or disapproval. The problem is that our conscience doesn't always tell us the truth. We are adept at training it in the direction of self–approval.
It is hard to live with a guilty conscience. Guilt feelings paralyze us. They can produce literal nausea. They can provoke psychosomatic illnesses. When we are assaulted by a guilty conscience we can change our behavior or change our consciences. We can sear the conscience. We can dull its accusing tone by rationalization.
By repeating sins over and over again we can mute the inner voice of conscience. We fall into the decadence described by Paul in Romans 1 whereby we not only continue in sin but encourage others to join us in it.
Who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:32
Recently, I watched a segment of the Phil Donahue show that featured an interview of actors and actresses who starred in pornographic movies. The film players insisted that (a) they felt no guilt and (b) they had high standards because they refused to participate in radical sexual violence or in the sexual exploitation of children. They had a conscience about violence and child exploitation which “excused” their lack of conscience in other areas.
The porn actors justified their behavior by appealing to the fact that they avoided more heinous sexual behavior than their own. Their remarks were a consummate display of self–deceit, whereby they casually called evil good. They played on a distinction between bad and worse. They considered their own evil good because it was not worse. Here wickedness was relativized so that their own conscience could excuse them.
This game is played on more stages than those that are X–rated. As long as I can point to some worse evil than my own, I can flatter myself with a distorted view of virtue and vice.
For the conscience to function in a godly way it must be influenced by godly convictions. To gain godly consciences, our consciousness of what is right and what is wrong must be sharpened. This involves the mind. It is a matter of doctrine.
Doctrine comes from the Word of God. The Word addresses our consciousness. It is given for our understanding. The Word engages the mind, not the elbow. The Word is the Spirit's book. The Holy Spirit inspires the Scriptures. He is the Revealer of truth.
But the Spirit's work does not stop in the inspiring of Scripture. The Spirit illumines the Word and applies the Word to us:
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one know the things of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10–11
I once heard Dr. David Hubbard, president of Fuller Theological Seminary speak on this text. Dr. Hubbard explained the meaning of the Spirit's searching the things of God. Human beings search after things they do not have or do not know. The Holy Spirit is not an ignorant member of the Godhead who is desperately seeking to discover the truth of God. The Holy Spirit is God. All that the father knows the Spirit already knows does not need to search after it.
Rather, the text refers to the Spirit's work of illumination for us. It is as though the Spirit puts a searchlight on the Word of God to help us see what is already there. He is assisting us in our search for understanding.
The Spirit is sent to instruct us and to convict us. He applies the intensity of knowledge that is conviction. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit for this purpose:
Nevertheless I tell You the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go a away, the Helper will not come to You; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of Judgment. John 16:7–8
The progress from a changed consciousness to a changed conviction to a changed conscience is directed by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit works with the Word. He does not work against the Word or without the Word.
The Word and Spirit go together. Doctrine and life go together. The will and the mind go together. To separate them is to frustrate the work of sanctification within us and to grieve the Holy Spirit. To separate them is to avoid the integrated, committed life that pleases God.
"Wisdom calls aloud in the street; She raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out from the top of the walls, at the openings of the gates in the city . . ."
Proverbs 1:20-21
Keith
B.L.B.B!
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
The above exerpt is from "Pleasing God"; chapter 14 "Doctrine and Life", by
R.C. Sproul, 1988
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
SIN 2007: "Be Killing Sin or It Will Be Killing You"
These "smash-mouth" words were first penned (actually quilled) by the great 17th century English Puritan and theologian John Owen. I personally believe that John Owens was to theology what the '86 Bears were to football. His pursuit of holiness and his hostility toward sin was absolutely relentless. His words hit like the combined force of Butkus, Singletary and Urlacher.
I am currently reading a collection of three of Owens' classic works,
"Overcoming Sin & Temptation" edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor. This is a faithfully updated compilation of Owens' "Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers",
"Of Temptation, The Nature and Power of It", and "The Nature, Power, Deceit, and Prevalency of Indwelling Sin". These are actually abbreviations of the actual titles; in puritan writings the titles are often nearly as long as the books.
I was barely through the introduction when the editors floored me with what seemed to be an insight from Owen that was intended just for me. Let me first do a little self exposure. One of the ramp agents for my airline is a young lady I'll call, "Gertrude". "Gertrude" is probably in her early twenties and is as cute as she can be. Me, being the red-blooded American male that I am, could not help but notice this and have found myself looking forward to seeing "Gertrude". "Gertrude" using that fool-proof feminine radar that all women seem to have has apparently picked up on this and has been somewhat flirty. You know, the subtle tilting of the head when they greet you, the big smile and piercing glance, the sing-song voice . . . you get the picture. Naturally, for a 43 year old guy like myself it's quite intriguing and the ol' ego immediately chimes in with, "Hey boy, you've still got it". Being exceedingly, happily married I pinch and remind myself that my eyes are just for Lisa and begin to expel all of the thoughts that pop up when a red-blooded American male sees an attractive woman (see my January 22nd post for an effective way to do this). Please pray for me that my "flee reflex" remains sharp.
The insight that Owens revolutionized my thinking with is this: mortification and vivification. These are 17th century words for "to cause the death of" and "to give life to". Owens points out that most believers understand the need to cause the death of the sin in their lives; but are unaware of the need to give life to an opposing righteousness. Here's how the editors put it:
"These twin ideas of sanctification (mortification and vivification) require not only the shedding of sin but also renewal in grace . . . Consider a man who is struggling with inappropriate sexual thoughts about one of his female coworkers (Hello!). What does holiness look like in this case? Very often Christians have a truncated view of sanctification, which stops far too short of true righteousness. Although it would be a good thing for this man to get to the point that he no longer looks at this woman as an object of lust, that is not all that is hoped for in sanctification. Rather, in the power of the Spirit the goal is to move to a life-affirming position. Thus, the objective is not the absence of thoughts about this woman but the presence of a godly appreciation for her. Under normal circumstances this man should not simply try to deny her existence by avoiding her, but rather begin treating her with dignity, offering words that build her up instead of dehumanizing her with his thoughts. Ultimately lust will be replaced by genuine and appropriate respect and love."
I am definitely one of those believers who had only considered only one-half of this equation. I am truly humbled by my LORD's faithfulness in diagnosing my sin during this SIN 2007 quest.
The war continues . . .
Keith,
B.L.B.B.
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
These "smash-mouth" words were first penned (actually quilled) by the great 17th century English Puritan and theologian John Owen. I personally believe that John Owens was to theology what the '86 Bears were to football. His pursuit of holiness and his hostility toward sin was absolutely relentless. His words hit like the combined force of Butkus, Singletary and Urlacher.
I am currently reading a collection of three of Owens' classic works,
"Overcoming Sin & Temptation" edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor. This is a faithfully updated compilation of Owens' "Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers",
"Of Temptation, The Nature and Power of It", and "The Nature, Power, Deceit, and Prevalency of Indwelling Sin". These are actually abbreviations of the actual titles; in puritan writings the titles are often nearly as long as the books.
I was barely through the introduction when the editors floored me with what seemed to be an insight from Owen that was intended just for me. Let me first do a little self exposure. One of the ramp agents for my airline is a young lady I'll call, "Gertrude". "Gertrude" is probably in her early twenties and is as cute as she can be. Me, being the red-blooded American male that I am, could not help but notice this and have found myself looking forward to seeing "Gertrude". "Gertrude" using that fool-proof feminine radar that all women seem to have has apparently picked up on this and has been somewhat flirty. You know, the subtle tilting of the head when they greet you, the big smile and piercing glance, the sing-song voice . . . you get the picture. Naturally, for a 43 year old guy like myself it's quite intriguing and the ol' ego immediately chimes in with, "Hey boy, you've still got it". Being exceedingly, happily married I pinch and remind myself that my eyes are just for Lisa and begin to expel all of the thoughts that pop up when a red-blooded American male sees an attractive woman (see my January 22nd post for an effective way to do this). Please pray for me that my "flee reflex" remains sharp.
The insight that Owens revolutionized my thinking with is this: mortification and vivification. These are 17th century words for "to cause the death of" and "to give life to". Owens points out that most believers understand the need to cause the death of the sin in their lives; but are unaware of the need to give life to an opposing righteousness. Here's how the editors put it:
"These twin ideas of sanctification (mortification and vivification) require not only the shedding of sin but also renewal in grace . . . Consider a man who is struggling with inappropriate sexual thoughts about one of his female coworkers (Hello!). What does holiness look like in this case? Very often Christians have a truncated view of sanctification, which stops far too short of true righteousness. Although it would be a good thing for this man to get to the point that he no longer looks at this woman as an object of lust, that is not all that is hoped for in sanctification. Rather, in the power of the Spirit the goal is to move to a life-affirming position. Thus, the objective is not the absence of thoughts about this woman but the presence of a godly appreciation for her. Under normal circumstances this man should not simply try to deny her existence by avoiding her, but rather begin treating her with dignity, offering words that build her up instead of dehumanizing her with his thoughts. Ultimately lust will be replaced by genuine and appropriate respect and love."
I am definitely one of those believers who had only considered only one-half of this equation. I am truly humbled by my LORD's faithfulness in diagnosing my sin during this SIN 2007 quest.
The war continues . . .
Keith,
B.L.B.B.
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
Monday, February 26, 2007
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
There seems to be a new virus circulating around prosperity/word-faith institutions these days. It seems that the denizens of deficient doctrine no longer want to be called "Christians". As it was explained to me, this is so because the followers of Jesus Christ were first called "Christians" derogatorily by the unbelievers in Antioch. "And when he (Barnabas) had found him (Saul/Paul), he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called 'Christians' in Antioch", Acts 11:26(NKJV). As someone very close to me explained,"sons, citizens, friends, ambassadors would be okay . . . not a title thrust upon a group of folk by heathens".
So let me get this straight . . . because the heathen called you "followers of Christ"(which is what "Christians" means)you don't want to be known as "followers of Christ"?! I am severely tempted to make a very sardonic statement here, but I am going to resist. Just when I thought that I could not be amazed anymore by anything those who sit in these churches would swallow, I am slack-jawed again. A supposed preacher of God's infallible Word stands in front of a congregation of people (many of which have been honored by the title "Christian" for years), tells them that to be called a "Christian" a follower of the LORD Jesus Christ is an insult because the heathen came up with it . . . AND THEY APPLAUD IT !!!! This can only mean that: pigs can fly, a snowball can make it in hell and a one-legged man does stand a chance in a butt-kickin' contest!!!
I have said it time and time again that I'm not all that surprised by what these false teachers will say. What befuddles me is what their listeners will believe. Somewhere among these thousands of deceived people, I have to believe there was one person who went to his Strong's concordance, his Bible dictionary or even to his Webster's dictionary and looked up the word "Christian". Somewhere, one conscientious person went to the Scriptures and studied how the word, "Christian" is used in the Holy Writ. Some student of God's Word observed that the Apostle Peter used it positively and that none of the writers ever denounced it. Someone had to notice that it was only their guru who differed from all the fathers of this faith who embraced the term. What possible stain could be left on the word because it first fell from the lips of someone who did not believe in its root word? If a heathen called you "rich" would you reject that title? No, you'd say, "I receive that!"
I'm sure that I will receive vehement denials and harsh castigation for the following statement, but I believe it is true. This denial of the name that 2000 years of Christian (that's right, CHRISTIAN) history has venerated is the first step toward eliminating the name of Jesus altogether from the vocabulary and ultimately the theology of these prosperity/word-faith institutions. Time will tell. My plea to those of you to whom the Holy Spirit is making it clear that you are sitting under an apostate ministry is: FLEE! Please FLEE! Remember Lot's wife! Remember Joseph! Remember the Alamo!
In my book it is a privilege to be called a "Christian", no matter who came up with the word. What others may have meant for evil against us "God meant it for good . . ." (Genesis 50:20). "Sons"? "Citizens"? "Friends"? . . ."Tares"? Oops, the devil made me do it!
Keith
B.L.B.B!
(Be Like the Bereans Baby!!!)
There seems to be a new virus circulating around prosperity/word-faith institutions these days. It seems that the denizens of deficient doctrine no longer want to be called "Christians". As it was explained to me, this is so because the followers of Jesus Christ were first called "Christians" derogatorily by the unbelievers in Antioch. "And when he (Barnabas) had found him (Saul/Paul), he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called 'Christians' in Antioch", Acts 11:26(NKJV). As someone very close to me explained,"sons, citizens, friends, ambassadors would be okay . . . not a title thrust upon a group of folk by heathens".
So let me get this straight . . . because the heathen called you "followers of Christ"(which is what "Christians" means)you don't want to be known as "followers of Christ"?! I am severely tempted to make a very sardonic statement here, but I am going to resist. Just when I thought that I could not be amazed anymore by anything those who sit in these churches would swallow, I am slack-jawed again. A supposed preacher of God's infallible Word stands in front of a congregation of people (many of which have been honored by the title "Christian" for years), tells them that to be called a "Christian" a follower of the LORD Jesus Christ is an insult because the heathen came up with it . . . AND THEY APPLAUD IT !!!! This can only mean that: pigs can fly, a snowball can make it in hell and a one-legged man does stand a chance in a butt-kickin' contest!!!
I have said it time and time again that I'm not all that surprised by what these false teachers will say. What befuddles me is what their listeners will believe. Somewhere among these thousands of deceived people, I have to believe there was one person who went to his Strong's concordance, his Bible dictionary or even to his Webster's dictionary and looked up the word "Christian". Somewhere, one conscientious person went to the Scriptures and studied how the word, "Christian" is used in the Holy Writ. Some student of God's Word observed that the Apostle Peter used it positively and that none of the writers ever denounced it. Someone had to notice that it was only their guru who differed from all the fathers of this faith who embraced the term. What possible stain could be left on the word because it first fell from the lips of someone who did not believe in its root word? If a heathen called you "rich" would you reject that title? No, you'd say, "I receive that!"
I'm sure that I will receive vehement denials and harsh castigation for the following statement, but I believe it is true. This denial of the name that 2000 years of Christian (that's right, CHRISTIAN) history has venerated is the first step toward eliminating the name of Jesus altogether from the vocabulary and ultimately the theology of these prosperity/word-faith institutions. Time will tell. My plea to those of you to whom the Holy Spirit is making it clear that you are sitting under an apostate ministry is: FLEE! Please FLEE! Remember Lot's wife! Remember Joseph! Remember the Alamo!
In my book it is a privilege to be called a "Christian", no matter who came up with the word. What others may have meant for evil against us "God meant it for good . . ." (Genesis 50:20). "Sons"? "Citizens"? "Friends"? . . ."Tares"? Oops, the devil made me do it!
Keith
B.L.B.B!
(Be Like the Bereans Baby!!!)
Saturday, February 10, 2007
SE HABLA LAS NOTICIAS BUENAS! THE GOSPEL IS SPOKEN HERE!
A little bird, a little pregnant bird, a little pregnant bird named "Lisa" told me that I decry the false teaching and false teachers out there; but I never point anyone to where solid Gospel preaching is found. Okay, point taken. Never let it be said that yours truly can't take a little constructive criticism.
So,if your out their and you are beginning to believe that, "hey, I think I am sitting under false teaching", here's a resource to find a solid Reformed church.
My friends over at Reformed Blacks of America have a national listing of solid Reformed churches. Here is their address:
www.reformedblacksofamerica.org/churches.php
For those of you in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend my own church:
ALL SAINTS REDEEMER. As a shameless plug I am including a draft of a brochure that I am currently working on:
READY FOR STEAK?
We invite you to a “steak” dinner served every Sunday morning at All Saints Redeemer Church. We are a distinct and overtly reformed community of believers. Our pastor, Michael Leach, by the grace of God preaches the unvarnished gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ and His atoning death for sinners like us. Straight with no chaser, period!
Here, you will find no self-flattering prophecies or false promises of health and wealth. Here, you will find only the faithful exposition of the Holy Bible which is the only true revelation of Almighty God and His will for His people. Here, man is not deified, but only the triune God is exalted and His sovereignty in every facet of life is recognized and worshiped.
Why Reformed?
The Protestant Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries was a declaration that the church of Jesus Christ had strayed from its “foundation on the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). The reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin fearlessly declared that Holy Scripture and Holy Scripture alone is the final rule for the faith and practice of Christianity.
We have witnessed a similar straying of the church in recent times. Men and women have risen to megastar status while denying the deity of Jesus, deifying man, promoting stark materialism, denying sin and twisting Scripture. All Saints Redeemer Church is one of a growing number of Bible-believing congregations that is saying, “enough is enough”! Jesus and Jesus alone is King of kings and Lord of lords! No flesh shall glory in His presence (Isaiah 48:11).
-Programs-
We have only three:
-Faithful preaching of the gospel, the person and work of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16-18; I Cor 1:23-24; I Cor 2:2; I Cor 15:1-8).
-Faithful administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38-39; I Cor 11:17-32).
-Faithful and loving church discipline (Matt 18:15-20; I Cor chps 5&6; II Cor 2:5-11).
-Goals of ASRC-
-Constant and persistent exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 2:9-11).
-Joyful obedience to the commands of
Almighty God (Psalm 119:10-12; 44-48).
-Promotion of the growth of God’s
people in the grace and knowledge
of Jesus (II Peter 3:18).
-Build true communion among the
saints of God (Psalm 133).
-The Bottom Line-
The Word of God is the sole self-revelation of God and His glorious plan for redemptive history.
At ASRC, we hold it to be just that. By committing ourselves to the veracity and reliability of the Holy Bible and the spiritual and true worship of God, we trust in the Holy Spirit for the sanctification and ultimate glorification of the body of Christ.
For further information about All Saints Redeemer Church:
-Please visit us on the web at:
www.allsaintsredeemer.org
-Services-
Sunday School 9:45am - 10:45am
Worship 11:00am
-Location-
We currently meet at:
American University for Biblical Studies
4468 Covington Hwy.
(The northeast corner of Covington Hwy @
S. Indian Creek Road)
Decatur, Georgia 30036
“But strong meat is for the mature,
for those who have their powers of
discernment trained by constant
practice to distinguish good from
evil”.
Hebrews 5:14
So there you have it. If you are ready to flee false teaching and are ready to hear the Gospel, you now know where you can find it just about anywhere in the good ol'
U.S. of A!
Keith
B.L.B.B.
(Be Like the Bereans Baby!!!)
A little bird, a little pregnant bird, a little pregnant bird named "Lisa" told me that I decry the false teaching and false teachers out there; but I never point anyone to where solid Gospel preaching is found. Okay, point taken. Never let it be said that yours truly can't take a little constructive criticism.
So,if your out their and you are beginning to believe that, "hey, I think I am sitting under false teaching", here's a resource to find a solid Reformed church.
My friends over at Reformed Blacks of America have a national listing of solid Reformed churches. Here is their address:
www.reformedblacksofamerica.org/churches.php
For those of you in the Atlanta area, I highly recommend my own church:
ALL SAINTS REDEEMER. As a shameless plug I am including a draft of a brochure that I am currently working on:
READY FOR STEAK?
We invite you to a “steak” dinner served every Sunday morning at All Saints Redeemer Church. We are a distinct and overtly reformed community of believers. Our pastor, Michael Leach, by the grace of God preaches the unvarnished gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ and His atoning death for sinners like us. Straight with no chaser, period!
Here, you will find no self-flattering prophecies or false promises of health and wealth. Here, you will find only the faithful exposition of the Holy Bible which is the only true revelation of Almighty God and His will for His people. Here, man is not deified, but only the triune God is exalted and His sovereignty in every facet of life is recognized and worshiped.
Why Reformed?
The Protestant Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries was a declaration that the church of Jesus Christ had strayed from its “foundation on the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). The reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin fearlessly declared that Holy Scripture and Holy Scripture alone is the final rule for the faith and practice of Christianity.
We have witnessed a similar straying of the church in recent times. Men and women have risen to megastar status while denying the deity of Jesus, deifying man, promoting stark materialism, denying sin and twisting Scripture. All Saints Redeemer Church is one of a growing number of Bible-believing congregations that is saying, “enough is enough”! Jesus and Jesus alone is King of kings and Lord of lords! No flesh shall glory in His presence (Isaiah 48:11).
-Programs-
We have only three:
-Faithful preaching of the gospel, the person and work of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16-18; I Cor 1:23-24; I Cor 2:2; I Cor 15:1-8).
-Faithful administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38-39; I Cor 11:17-32).
-Faithful and loving church discipline (Matt 18:15-20; I Cor chps 5&6; II Cor 2:5-11).
-Goals of ASRC-
-Constant and persistent exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 2:9-11).
-Joyful obedience to the commands of
Almighty God (Psalm 119:10-12; 44-48).
-Promotion of the growth of God’s
people in the grace and knowledge
of Jesus (II Peter 3:18).
-Build true communion among the
saints of God (Psalm 133).
-The Bottom Line-
The Word of God is the sole self-revelation of God and His glorious plan for redemptive history.
At ASRC, we hold it to be just that. By committing ourselves to the veracity and reliability of the Holy Bible and the spiritual and true worship of God, we trust in the Holy Spirit for the sanctification and ultimate glorification of the body of Christ.
For further information about All Saints Redeemer Church:
-Please visit us on the web at:
www.allsaintsredeemer.org
-Services-
Sunday School 9:45am - 10:45am
Worship 11:00am
-Location-
We currently meet at:
American University for Biblical Studies
4468 Covington Hwy.
(The northeast corner of Covington Hwy @
S. Indian Creek Road)
Decatur, Georgia 30036
“But strong meat is for the mature,
for those who have their powers of
discernment trained by constant
practice to distinguish good from
evil”.
Hebrews 5:14
So there you have it. If you are ready to flee false teaching and are ready to hear the Gospel, you now know where you can find it just about anywhere in the good ol'
U.S. of A!
Keith
B.L.B.B.
(Be Like the Bereans Baby!!!)
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Worshipin' With the Big Dogs!
With the plethora of pulpit pimps pilfering the populace today (sat that three times fast!) it's easy to forget that the "pimpees" share a lot of the guilt. I'm of the opinion that for many of the doctrinally challenged; it's not about who you worship, but who you worship with.
As a survivor of a prosperity church, I know from experience you can indulge in some serious star-gazing at a big name church with a big name preacher. Yes, you can certainly be the envy of your co-workers or classmates when you tell them on Monday morning: "Yeah, Deion Sanders was praying right next to me yesterday", or "Denzel and I wore the same tie to church last week."
Of course, after a while you get used to it and Diddy becomes just another church member. But you have to know that if you really want to get Uncle Joe to come to church all you have to say is "Beyonce' will probably be there Sunday". And in no time Uncle Joe is walking down the the aisle making a decision for Christ and helping to pay off the Bishop's new Gulfstream-5 jet.
Let's face it these preachers themselves are now celebrities. So when you drop the name of your Bishop/Apostle/god you can expect their fame to open a few doors for you. This all, of course, falls under the heading of "God's favor". Just say, "get ready, get ready, get ready" when ordering and receive two extra pancakes with your "Grand-slam Breakfast" at your local Dallas area Denny's. Tell 'em "T.D." sent you! (Just kidding!)
Beside the celebrity connection, if you are a business person nothing increases your bottom-line like an affliliation with the megachurch next door. Especially if you can get the Pontiff to endorse your business or even use your sevices for the club, I mean church itself. So what if the preacher can't spell "Bible"; every pimpee who needs a payday loan to pay the note on the Bentley that the Prophet told him God said was his, can get said loan from you! "And don't forget to use your 'New Birth Mastercard'. Tithe: $5000. Love Offering: $3000. Copyrights to new "Women Pastors Gone Wild" videos: priceless."
"Hey lonely lady, need tha' hook-up? Just throw on your best pair of "Apple Bottoms" and head on down to Greater Mount Carnal Christian Center this Sunday. We have 'em tall, dark and handsome. Some of them may even be saved! And if you make a 'mistake' and get pregnant, go ahead have that abortion. You'll never hear a word about it from us! Hey Adam, we didn't forget about you. You can find your "Steve" right here. After all, gay money is green, too".
I guess the reason that I have said all of this is to take some of the pressure off all of you who are trying to get family and friends out of places like these. Not everyone who attends these false churches is an innocent dupe, hypnotized under the preacher's charismatic spell. Many of them have reasons for being there that have absolutely nothing to do with Christ or Christianity. The whole "seeker-friendly" scheme is a farce, because no unsaved person seeks God in the first place. And those whom God has effectually called, even if their first stop is a false church like these, will grow weary of counterfeit christianity. He who has called them is faithful and will lead His sheep to green pastures (and I don't mean the one "pastored" by "Apostle" Collette Gunby!).
Keith
B. L. B. B.
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
With the plethora of pulpit pimps pilfering the populace today (sat that three times fast!) it's easy to forget that the "pimpees" share a lot of the guilt. I'm of the opinion that for many of the doctrinally challenged; it's not about who you worship, but who you worship with.
As a survivor of a prosperity church, I know from experience you can indulge in some serious star-gazing at a big name church with a big name preacher. Yes, you can certainly be the envy of your co-workers or classmates when you tell them on Monday morning: "Yeah, Deion Sanders was praying right next to me yesterday", or "Denzel and I wore the same tie to church last week."
Of course, after a while you get used to it and Diddy becomes just another church member. But you have to know that if you really want to get Uncle Joe to come to church all you have to say is "Beyonce' will probably be there Sunday". And in no time Uncle Joe is walking down the the aisle making a decision for Christ and helping to pay off the Bishop's new Gulfstream-5 jet.
Let's face it these preachers themselves are now celebrities. So when you drop the name of your Bishop/Apostle/god you can expect their fame to open a few doors for you. This all, of course, falls under the heading of "God's favor". Just say, "get ready, get ready, get ready" when ordering and receive two extra pancakes with your "Grand-slam Breakfast" at your local Dallas area Denny's. Tell 'em "T.D." sent you! (Just kidding!)
Beside the celebrity connection, if you are a business person nothing increases your bottom-line like an affliliation with the megachurch next door. Especially if you can get the Pontiff to endorse your business or even use your sevices for the club, I mean church itself. So what if the preacher can't spell "Bible"; every pimpee who needs a payday loan to pay the note on the Bentley that the Prophet told him God said was his, can get said loan from you! "And don't forget to use your 'New Birth Mastercard'. Tithe: $5000. Love Offering: $3000. Copyrights to new "Women Pastors Gone Wild" videos: priceless."
"Hey lonely lady, need tha' hook-up? Just throw on your best pair of "Apple Bottoms" and head on down to Greater Mount Carnal Christian Center this Sunday. We have 'em tall, dark and handsome. Some of them may even be saved! And if you make a 'mistake' and get pregnant, go ahead have that abortion. You'll never hear a word about it from us! Hey Adam, we didn't forget about you. You can find your "Steve" right here. After all, gay money is green, too".
I guess the reason that I have said all of this is to take some of the pressure off all of you who are trying to get family and friends out of places like these. Not everyone who attends these false churches is an innocent dupe, hypnotized under the preacher's charismatic spell. Many of them have reasons for being there that have absolutely nothing to do with Christ or Christianity. The whole "seeker-friendly" scheme is a farce, because no unsaved person seeks God in the first place. And those whom God has effectually called, even if their first stop is a false church like these, will grow weary of counterfeit christianity. He who has called them is faithful and will lead His sheep to green pastures (and I don't mean the one "pastored" by "Apostle" Collette Gunby!).
Keith
B. L. B. B.
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!!!)
A "Sin 2007" News Brief
Well, nothing new to report. The same old battle rages.
However, I have gained some interesting insights into sin's deceptions and work from Kris Lundgaard. In his book "The Enemy Within", Lundgaard exposes a very subtle trick of sin. He states: ". . . the flesh weakens conviction against sin by seperating the remedy of grace from the design of grace. The Scriptures teach nothing more clearly than that God's design in showing mercy is to make us holy people . . . God also provides a remedy for our lapses: His loving pardon gives us peace, so that we know that if we do sin, "we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense"(I John 2:1). The flesh works to make you forget the design (that you are saved to be holy) and think only of the remedy (if you sin you'll be forgiven). It preaches half a gospel (a twisted gospel) to us: "Go ahead and indulge - it's already paid for'".
This may seem rather obvious, but that's what makes it both such deception and genius on the part of sin. We can all too easily make the mistake of presuming on the forgiveness of God while neglecting His requirement that we be Holy as He is Holy. It's like using the "Get Out of Jail Free" card in a game of Monopoly. When we fall for this ploy of the flesh, however, we don't realize ( often until it's too late) that as Lundgaard says, "your heart is hardened by its deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13) so that you are careless about sin. You will look at your life and think about how often you need forgiveness, and so come to think of it as something common". This is the height of presumption which is itself a great sin against God.
We would all do well to recognize that all sin is a strike at the holiness of God. Let's all pray for a hatred of our sin and a cherishing of the holiness, mercy and grace of our invincible God.
Keith
B. L. B. B.
(Be Like the Bereans Baby!!!)
Well, nothing new to report. The same old battle rages.
However, I have gained some interesting insights into sin's deceptions and work from Kris Lundgaard. In his book "The Enemy Within", Lundgaard exposes a very subtle trick of sin. He states: ". . . the flesh weakens conviction against sin by seperating the remedy of grace from the design of grace. The Scriptures teach nothing more clearly than that God's design in showing mercy is to make us holy people . . . God also provides a remedy for our lapses: His loving pardon gives us peace, so that we know that if we do sin, "we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense"(I John 2:1). The flesh works to make you forget the design (that you are saved to be holy) and think only of the remedy (if you sin you'll be forgiven). It preaches half a gospel (a twisted gospel) to us: "Go ahead and indulge - it's already paid for'".
This may seem rather obvious, but that's what makes it both such deception and genius on the part of sin. We can all too easily make the mistake of presuming on the forgiveness of God while neglecting His requirement that we be Holy as He is Holy. It's like using the "Get Out of Jail Free" card in a game of Monopoly. When we fall for this ploy of the flesh, however, we don't realize ( often until it's too late) that as Lundgaard says, "your heart is hardened by its deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13) so that you are careless about sin. You will look at your life and think about how often you need forgiveness, and so come to think of it as something common". This is the height of presumption which is itself a great sin against God.
We would all do well to recognize that all sin is a strike at the holiness of God. Let's all pray for a hatred of our sin and a cherishing of the holiness, mercy and grace of our invincible God.
Keith
B. L. B. B.
(Be Like the Bereans Baby!!!)
Monday, January 22, 2007
SIN 2007: News from the Frontline
Well the first ten days of battle are largely unremarkable. Other than to say, yes I have blown it repeatedly already. Let's see, I became angry when notoriously hostile Memphis gate agent "Bob" (not his real name) refused to list me for the jumpseat last Saturday (1/13). As you may know, I am an airline pilot by profession and I commute back and forth to Memphis, TN. where I am based. Well, Bob (I like to refer to him as "little Attilah") refused to list me for the jumpseat; even though I arrived well before departure time, because he was too tied up with other matters. Since this was the last flight home to Atlanta that evening, I had to spend the night at the airport. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. I didn't give "Bob" the proverbial piece of my mind; however, I did say some rather rude things about his height and his uncanny resemblance to the "Travelocity travel gnome" inside my head. I repent, I repent . . . I guess.
Along with that, I had my usual variety of improper thoughts regarding some very attractive women who have been passengers on my flights and in the various airports and cities I've traveled to. In order to snuff them out as quickly as I can, I have taken the advice of pastor John Piper. In his devotional, "Pierced by the Word" (which is excellent by the way), he gives this antidote for lustful thoughts:
" . . . have you ever in the first five seconds of temptation demanded of your mind that it look steadfastly at the crucified form of Jesus Christ? Picture this. You have just seen a peek-a-boo blouse inviting further fantasy. You have five seconds . . . demand of your mind that it fix its gaze on Christ on the cross. Use all your fantasizing power to see His lacerated back. Thirty-nine lashes left little flesh intact. He heaves with His breath up and down against the rough vertical beam of the cross. Each breath puts splinters into the lacerations. The Lord gasps. From time to time He screams out with intolerable pain. He tries to pull away from the wood and the massive spokes through His wrists rip into the nerve endings and He screams again with agony and pushes up with His feet to give some relief to His wrists. But the bones and nerves in His pierced feet crush against each other with anguish and He screams again. There is no relief. His throat is raw from screaming and thirst. He loses His breath and thinks He is suffocating, and suddenly His body involuntarily gasps for air and all the injuries unite in pain. In torment, He forgets about the crown of two-inch thorns and throws His head back in desperation, only to hit one of the thorns an inch into His skull. His voice reaches a soprano pitch of pain and sobs break over His pain-wracked body as every cry brings more and more pain."
"Now, I am not thinking about the blouse anymore. I am at Calvary. These two images are not compatible. If you will use the muscle of your brain to pursue - violently pursue with the muscle of your mind - images of Christ crucified with the same creative energy that you use to pursue sexual fantasies, you will kill them. But it must start in the first five seconds - and not give up."
Unfortunately, I am still sometimes a little slow on the draw. But when I do employ Dr. Piper's strategy I am able to snuff out the snuff. . .Thank God! I have also found that visualizing the crucifixion scene from Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is a vivid means to kill lusty thoughts.
It seems that the largest part of my war is between my ears, as it is for most of us. Although, these sins haven't "hurt anybody", I realize first and foremost that my sin is against the Holy God who has sacrificed His best for His children. It is to my shame that I have betrayed the precious blood of my Savior and Lord and I long for the day when this will not or ever can be the case again.
Has their been any victory in this part of the battle? Why, certainly . . .
We have His promise "that He who began a good work in you WILL bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."(Phil. 1:6)
The War Continues . . .
Keith
B. L. B. B.
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!)
Well the first ten days of battle are largely unremarkable. Other than to say, yes I have blown it repeatedly already. Let's see, I became angry when notoriously hostile Memphis gate agent "Bob" (not his real name) refused to list me for the jumpseat last Saturday (1/13). As you may know, I am an airline pilot by profession and I commute back and forth to Memphis, TN. where I am based. Well, Bob (I like to refer to him as "little Attilah") refused to list me for the jumpseat; even though I arrived well before departure time, because he was too tied up with other matters. Since this was the last flight home to Atlanta that evening, I had to spend the night at the airport. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. I didn't give "Bob" the proverbial piece of my mind; however, I did say some rather rude things about his height and his uncanny resemblance to the "Travelocity travel gnome" inside my head. I repent, I repent . . . I guess.
Along with that, I had my usual variety of improper thoughts regarding some very attractive women who have been passengers on my flights and in the various airports and cities I've traveled to. In order to snuff them out as quickly as I can, I have taken the advice of pastor John Piper. In his devotional, "Pierced by the Word" (which is excellent by the way), he gives this antidote for lustful thoughts:
" . . . have you ever in the first five seconds of temptation demanded of your mind that it look steadfastly at the crucified form of Jesus Christ? Picture this. You have just seen a peek-a-boo blouse inviting further fantasy. You have five seconds . . . demand of your mind that it fix its gaze on Christ on the cross. Use all your fantasizing power to see His lacerated back. Thirty-nine lashes left little flesh intact. He heaves with His breath up and down against the rough vertical beam of the cross. Each breath puts splinters into the lacerations. The Lord gasps. From time to time He screams out with intolerable pain. He tries to pull away from the wood and the massive spokes through His wrists rip into the nerve endings and He screams again with agony and pushes up with His feet to give some relief to His wrists. But the bones and nerves in His pierced feet crush against each other with anguish and He screams again. There is no relief. His throat is raw from screaming and thirst. He loses His breath and thinks He is suffocating, and suddenly His body involuntarily gasps for air and all the injuries unite in pain. In torment, He forgets about the crown of two-inch thorns and throws His head back in desperation, only to hit one of the thorns an inch into His skull. His voice reaches a soprano pitch of pain and sobs break over His pain-wracked body as every cry brings more and more pain."
"Now, I am not thinking about the blouse anymore. I am at Calvary. These two images are not compatible. If you will use the muscle of your brain to pursue - violently pursue with the muscle of your mind - images of Christ crucified with the same creative energy that you use to pursue sexual fantasies, you will kill them. But it must start in the first five seconds - and not give up."
Unfortunately, I am still sometimes a little slow on the draw. But when I do employ Dr. Piper's strategy I am able to snuff out the snuff. . .Thank God! I have also found that visualizing the crucifixion scene from Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is a vivid means to kill lusty thoughts.
It seems that the largest part of my war is between my ears, as it is for most of us. Although, these sins haven't "hurt anybody", I realize first and foremost that my sin is against the Holy God who has sacrificed His best for His children. It is to my shame that I have betrayed the precious blood of my Savior and Lord and I long for the day when this will not or ever can be the case again.
Has their been any victory in this part of the battle? Why, certainly . . .
We have His promise "that He who began a good work in you WILL bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."(Phil. 1:6)
The War Continues . . .
Keith
B. L. B. B.
(Be Like the Bereans, Baby!)
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