Apologies!

I'd like to apologize for my lack of posts lately!

I've been getting an influx of new readers thanks to the guys at Pyromaniacs, but I have nothing to show them!


My wife and I, after much prayer and waiting, are finally closing on a beautiful new townhouse in Cary, NC. We have found a spiritual home at Colonial Baptist Church, and look forward to growing within the body as a couple and someday a family! During construction, we dedicated the bottom floor bedroom (complete with full bathroom) to all those serving Christ needing accommodations; from missionaries to potential seminary students to those coming in for conferences in the RDU area. We hope to fill it soon!

Praise God for His blessings in our lives, and pray that He continues to strengthen our resolve to live for Him with all of our heart!

I will resume posting sometime after Thanksgiving, once we are all set up. Thank you to those who continue to read and return to the site...be ready for great things!

In Christ,

Jason

Quick Post - The Power of Words

Story (unnecessary, but here's the link): Stocks dip on Bernanke's sobering words

How is it that billions of dollars and the financial future of numerous investors can be affected by one man's words at a dinner party, but the Word of God can be read and not affect anyone in our society?

It's amazing how much power words have...but what words (or Word) are we letting affect our lives the most?

--Jason

Our Citizenship – Heaven or America?

I would first like to apologize for the break in posts; it’s been a busy couple of weeks for my family, and priorities being what they are, the blog was on the back burner.

I continue to explore political issues on the blog, but I intend to do so from a Biblical perspective. As an International Studies/Political Science major who no longer works in the field, I enjoy discussing these topics. Here we go:

I find that professing Christians in America are extremely myopic when it comes to the place that a President (not to mention the United States itself) plays in eternity. To begin, I would like to lay out a few statements that lay the groundwork for this essay/post:

• Neither “America” nor “the United States” appear anywhere in the Bible. Does this mean that we are insignificant or our nation does not have profound worldly influence? Of course not…it just means that our country (and more importantly our political leaders) has no significant impact in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.
  
• No matter who is in office, be they Republicans, Democrats or Communists, The Bible commands Christians to render unto our government what is due, whether it be taxes, submission, or honor. (cf. Luke 20:25, Romans 13:1-7)
  
• I am a proud citizen of the United States. I believe that we enjoy a degree of prosperity, safety and freedom that world history has seldom seen, and I appreciate the sacrifices made by millions of men and women to make our country what it is today. There is nowhere on Earth that I would rather live. (Well, maybe Costa Rica…but that’s another post!)
  
• When I use the term Christian, I do not refer to it in the fill-in-the-bubble-sheet, my-parents-are-so-I-must-be, Joel-Osteen-isn’t-that-bad form of “faith”. That is not Christianity. I am speaking about repentance, submission, and regeneration through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
  
• A Christian President of the United States can and would have a profound impact on our country. If he or she were a true believer, willing to submit to Christ over party affiliations and activist groups, he/she could do much to bring to light the unbiblical policies that have beset our country. However, the Executive is only one of the three branches of government, and a sizeable majority of the Congress and Supreme Court would also have to be filled with Christians in order to enact real change.

With these premises in place, why do Christians (and their organizations) in America spend such time, energy and money in a political process that has no bearing on Christ, the church, or their eternal salvation? Do they believe that if a certain undesirable candidate is elected into office, the grace of God would cease? Would we somehow accelerate the coming of the end times? Will God “remove His blessings” from our “great nation”?

This reality would not be as repulsive were these brothers and sisters lifting up a candidate that adhered to the Bible as the one true source of Truth, and applied its teachings and principles to mold their political philosophy. Undoubtedly, there would be other characteristics of this candidate that may not coincide completely with Scripture due to the nature of the office (adherence to the American versions of equality and justice requires a degree of “tolerance”), but he would not blatantly contradict or ignore the Word of God in his words and deeds (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Adding fuel to the fire is the idea that because one candidate is particularly repulsive, or at the very least belongs to the wrong “party”, we must rally behind the most likely candidate to defeat them, regardless of the latter’s faith, policies, etc. The idea that “Christian Right” organizations are considering backing a Mormon candidate or a former NYC mayor that is a staunch advocate for infanticide (read: abortion rights) simply because their party affiliations place them in opposition with a popular, young Illinois senator or former First Lady is ludicrous, and exposes those organizations for the worldly, ineffective and utterly useless institutions that they are.

Since our nation lives in wanton sin and rebellion to God, as all nations and peoples do, a Christian candidate who stands firm with God will not be popular (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12-15). In love, he would stand firm for Christ (cf. Col. 4:5), but would be rebuked and hated for it (John 15:18). Unfortunately, our election system is no more than a glorified popularity contest. Our education system and reliance on the spoon-feeding of mass media outlets has effectively eliminated informed decision-making in our society, and nowhere is that more evident than in our political process.

As a result, this great “melting pot” of ideas and cultures that is the United States has shamefully been galvanized into two competing yet often indistinguishable factions: Republicans and Democrats. The old stereotype goes as follows: Republicans are at best advocates of personal responsibility, financial progress and minimal government, and at worst they are uncaring, buck-toothed Bible-thumping racists that cause wars and Hurricane Katrina. Democrats are at best progressive, caring, tolerant and intelligent; at worst, they infringe on personal rights, destroy the motivation to succeed and have a desire for the government to control and administer everything a la Karl Marx.

These stereotypes have been debated and propagated ad nauseam, and I don’t intend to continue on those lines. Despite the fact that their policies intersect much more than they differ, most Americans find their way conveniently into one of the two camps. The problem lies not in their desire to associate with a party that most closely represents their personal values; rather it’s the submission to the “party line” over the Bible that is the problem. Each of the parties espouse policies that are unbiblical, yet Christians can be found in both camps, thoroughly entrenched in the activities and candidates of their chosen group.

Thanks to this blind allegiance, come November 2008 we can expect to see Christians lined up at the polls to vote for a Mormon because they don’t want a certain woman (who proclaims to be Methodist) in the White House. Instead of voting for a candidate that is a professing, Bible-based Christian, they willingly cast a ballot for a man who believes that a mystic swindler named Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Why would they do that?

Their answer would undoubtedly be: “Well, I don’t want (woman candidate) in the White House, so I’m voting for (Mormon candidate).” Why wouldn’t you vote for a Christian candidate, even if it means voting for a third party? “That would be throwing my vote away.”

Rationally speaking, my hypothetical voter is right. A “Third Party” option is a nice idea in theory, but in practice it has never worked on a national level; no third party candidate has ever won the U.S. Presidency. Not only are third party votes essentially “throw away” votes, they often have a profoundly negative effect (in the eyes of their supporters); whichever of the two main parties is more ideologically matched with the third party loses votes to that party, causing the opposing party to win the election. Notable examples of this are the elections of 1912, 1992 and 2000. Teddy Roosevelt, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader all drew votes away from their “big brother” parties, allowing the opposition to come away with the victory. History has taught many people a lesson, and no matter how attractive a third party candidate may be, a vast majority of voters cannot bring themselves to vote for a candidate that they believe has no chance of winning (self-fulfilling prophecy, anyone?).

It sounds like Christians are stuck between a rock and a hard place: “Do I vote for someone with whom I don’t theologically agree to prevent a truly undesirable candidate from winning the White House, or do I risk ‘shooting myself in the foot’ by throwing my vote away on a third party candidate, even though he is a Christian?

What should we do?

As with every situation in our earthly lives, we are obligated to search the Scripture for the answer, and pray that God strengthens our resolve and dedication to Him to carry its direction out in our lives. As with every situation in our earthly lives, we are obligated to search the Scripture for the answer, and pray that God strengthens our resolve and dedication to Him to carry its direction out in our lives. Some passages that I believe can help us include:

Hebrews 12:28-29 - Our heavenly King and His kingdom will not be shaken; no president, congress, lobbyist group, or social activist can do anything to Christ's reign. Why then would someone worry that if a certain candidate gets into the White House, Christianity is doomed? In China, Christians are jailed for distributing the Bible in secret house churches...and we're worried about a 4-year term of one person in a country with a heritage of Christian values?

Amos 8:9 - The Lord demonstrates His power at His own will. Empires much larger and more dominant than the United States have fallen at the sound of His voice. But notice how the Lord saves the house of Jacob? He protects those whom he wishes, and he judges those he wishes. God is sovereign. Plain and simple. In our culture we have reduced God to little more than Big Brother making sure were "doing the right thing"; many Christians have fallen victim to this as well. They act as if we influence God's plan for them, America, and the rest of the world. That's called Open Theism; that God isn't powerful enough to "see" the future. That is heresy. He has counted the hairs on our head (Matt. 10:30), and He has the days of America's existence planned out as well.

Romans 1:18-32- This passage has often been used to describe America and our love of sin. Much like the people Paul describes in this section of Romans, we have the law of God written on our hearts, yet we choose to ignore it. Instead of doing our best to vote for Christian men who are "unashamed of the Gospel," we have allowed political partisanship and earthly, short-sided issues like taxation strategy and government spending to become the major issues in this country. Distracted by these eternally insignificant issues, real issues like the murder of thousands of innocent children, the condoning of same-sex relations, and the moral degradation of our public education system have become peripheral issues only discussed during the election, and are soon forgotten. Instead of uplifting true Christian leaders that will lead humbly, prayerfully and dutifully, we allow men (or women) who merely label themselves as Christians (because their focus groups told them it was the right thing to do) to enter the office and subsequently ignore God's Word.

What is the solution then? It's simple.

• Your citizenship in Heaven is infinitely more important than your American citizenship. While we have a duty to participate in the system, we must keep "looking up" as we carry out our earthly life. Never let the latter overrule the former.
  
• If the candidate of your particular party does not meet the Biblical requirements of a leader, or he does not stand firm for God, then you should not not to vote for that person.
  
• If there is a Christian third-party candidate that stands for your values, then you should vote for him. God knows your heart, He knows who for whom you are voting, and He knows why. Don't let the American election system dilute your values. He most likely won't win, and maybe he will end up getting someone of the opposing party elected...but you will have stood up for God...and He knows that.
  
• In the end, it does not matter who is in the White House. Christian President or not, our kingdom is not of this world. This world is dying, falling into sin and corruption more and more each day. A Christian leader could make our country more honoring to God, but would it slow or reverse progress toward God's judgment and Christ's return? Hardly.

I pray that this article works in the hearts of some of our brothers and sisters that are considering candidates other than those who line up their political platform with the Word of God. Any comments or questions are welcome!

In Him,

Jason

Survey Results...Very Telling...

(Click on the above picture to read it...Blogger doesn't let me post it full-size)

These selected questions (published through the Pew Center www.pewforum.org) are from a recent survey about religion. They speak for themselves.

Apologies for the lack of exigetical/substantial posts! I'll be back soon!

Definitely a necessary message...

Readers,

I apologize for the lack of posts recently; I have been helping my wife set up the foundation of her new business, and the only time we are able to work on the necessary preparations (website, legal forms, business plan writing, etc.) is during the evening.

While working from home today, I came across this message via changeyourcampus.com. The pastor/teacher's name is Paul Washer, and he is giving this message to a group of college-age students (I believe they are at a Baptist Bible college).

It calls its listeners yet again to the the external (and more importantly, internal) self-examination of Christ's Lordship as the evidence of a regenerate heart and a truly "saved soul". Emergents/ecumenicals/faint-of-heart/"people who don't like hell-and-damnation sermons" beware...it will open your eyes and I pray that it will work in your heart. It definitely gives me a gut check, and will find a permanent place in my sermon library.

MP3 and WMV Video links are on the page, it requires signing up for a weekly newsletter:
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sermonID=52906154239

Many of you may have heard or come across this sermon before. This being the first I've heard of it, I had to share it.

I'll make some posts of some substance soon! :-)

Selfish Fulfillment

This is an excerpt from the following story: "McCain: Overall faith what's important"

In a June interview with McClatchy Newspapers, the senator said his wife and two of their children have been baptized in the Arizona Baptist church, but he had not. "I didn't find it necessary to do so for my spiritual needs," he said.

He told McClatchy he found the Baptist church more fulfilling than the Episcopal church, but still referred to himself as an Episcopalian.

I realize that this is yet another political article in my blog, but I promise that I will not be dealing with any sort of social or political agendas (those are best left to other blogs). Instead, this quote worries me because I believe it is evident of an ever-present but growing trend in our society and among those who profess to be Christian: that Baptism and other evidences of submission to Christ as Lord are unnecessary and only exist for our edification and self-satisfaction.

The Presidential candidates have "evangelical strategists" that help them to court the vote the "Christian" community through the use of faith-based words, actions and associations. Instead of worrying about whether or not a candidate condones murder of innocent children, some of our Christian brothers and sisters care more about a candidate's shallow words or affiliation. The next post will be some selective excerpts from a recent Pew survey that will further demonstrate the responsibility of His children that have been provided with the Truth and have had it revealed to them through His Word that we have much work to be done in our "own house".

(Sorry, I thought I posted this the other day!)

Saudi Arabia = Apparently a Safe Mission Field?

The U.S. has given Saudi Arabia a pass during its recent study of worldwide "religious freedom", despite the Saudi state being the premier fundamentalist Muslim regime in the world.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070914/pl_afp/usreligionrightssaudi;_ylt=AsOCElYsUJj6gtPrf3oBl_k7Xs8F

Oil will make the U.S. do some crazy things. While 19 of the 20 Sept. 11th hijackers, Osama Bin Laden and billions in laundered terrorist funds all came from Saudi Arabia, they are seemingly innocent of all wrongdoing in both the GWOT and the oppression and brainwashing of its citizenry.

I realize this isn't a political blog, but for the U.S. to blantantly overlook a regime that persecutes Christians to the extent of punishing them under law is reprehensible and...well, flabbergasting.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in the Muslim world; what a testament to the truth of Christ at calling of the Holy Spirit that these people face religous, legal and social persecution at a level we can barely fathom every day, yet proclaim His Holy Name with strength and confidence. I pray that we be motivated to do the same!

Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend!

Open-Ended Question…How do you deal with frustration?

In this era of the Internet, YouTube, consumerism and 24-hour “Christian” TV networks, the Truth is under attack from every angle and at every moment of the day. While I strive to do my earthly duties and spend time in my walk with God, I find myself constantly upset by the mangling of Jesus’ truth and even His name throughout our culture. Deceivers like Joel Osteen (who I just found out has never attended seminary, and has one semester of undergraduate education to his famous name) and others lead people astray, and while I pray for those people and for God’s work to be done, I constantly feel as if it is my personal duty to spend time against these deceptive leaders.

What I’m looking for from my readers is: How do you deal with this frustration? What is your reaction when you hear Word Faith speakers and Universal Salvation peddlers broadcast to an audience of millions? What would He have us do in these situations?

I might have a little more time than many of you out there (young, no kids, no house), so I have time to ponder these things instead of tending to a family or mowing the lawn! That being the case, there aren’t enough hours in the day to go around correcting erroneous blogs and commenting of heretical YouTube videos…

Looking forward to your comments!

AdSense = Nonsense

I put Google AdSense ads on this site to see how much traffic would pass through the site, and to donate any proceeds to my church's general ministry fund (anyone coming here is definitely His work!).

After watching them for a couple of weeks, I realized that Google's crawling of my site must have picked the wrong words, because somehow the most blasphemous, unbiblical nonsense makes its way into those AdSense boxes.

I've decided to take them off, and if God ever wants me to "advertise" again, I'm sure He'll provide me with someone who is actually selling something of value!

Thanks for reading!

Response to the classic question...

I was going through some blogs and came across a posting with the title "Once Saved, Always Saved? Is the Jury Still Out on this One?"

I won't cite it here because I believe the author is still growing in her understanding of Scripture on this issue, but I did want to post my reply to that post to see if I was concise enough to get the point across, but lengthy enough to assure that the full Truth was discussed:

To the Author,

Your posting is extremely lengthy, but in you have some different issues that I would like to address. First, the title:

1. “Once Saved, Always Saved?” - Loaded Question
2. “Is the Jury Still Out on this One?” - No.

1. This question is a bit loaded, because each of its parts need to be defined and analyzed:

Once Saved = True, Christ died once and for all to sin, and as His people we are also dead in sin but alive in Him (Romans 6:9-11).

Always Saved = True, true believers who confess and repent of their sin nature and replace it with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their life will not perish (Hebrews 7:24-26).

In the context you are using “once saved, always saved” here, however, worries me because it seems like you are asking “does someone who is a professing Christian have the license to sin, or the ability to lose their salvation?” The answer to that is no. Evidence of a Christian is seen through works done in the name of Christ before men (James 2:14-26). Christians are not saved through their works (as false religions teach), but do works in thanksgiving and praise to God. Someone who says they are a Christian and does not have a regenerate heart that grieves over sin and strives to please God in both words and deeds is not to be regarded as a brother or sister.

2. The jury is not still out. The Bible is the Word of God, and is sufficient for all that we need to know about Him (2 Tim 3:16-17). The Bible is extremely clear on this issue.

Comments welcome!

Taking the "o" out of Good...

In speaking with a mentor/brother of mine last night over coffee, we got on the subject of the altruistic human-centered movements that seem to be springing up all over our country, if not the globe. Movements for "green" living, animal rights, humanism and others have become extremely popular over the last few years, and they have begun to make their way into advertisements and even the arts (e.g. Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth").

These are all "good things": keeping our earth clean, reducing waste and consumption, treating animals with respect and dignity, treating people of different backgrounds and races equally...I don't think that anyone debates the worth of these principles.

The problem is the ardent followers of these movements have erased an "o" from these "good things"...the "good" has become their "god".

It is a knee-jerk reaction to be critical of those that seem to deify the earth, animals or even human beings. "They are breaking the first commandment! AND the second one! Blasphemy! Heresy!" Now, that is probably a little over the top, but my general point is that we look at those people as following false Gods in spite of our God. Now, these people are against God per the Bible, and they have put their trust in something else other than Him, but do they make an effort to hate our God? Are they lost forever?

What we should look at instead is the reason why these people have taken these "good things" and turned them in to "God things". They obviously have the capacity to venerate something "good" above themselves, and are willing to dedicate themselves to that purpose. Why the earth/animals/humans instead of our Lord?

For example, put yourself in a humanist's shoes: long ago, you showed up at a church at the request of a friend, but secretly wondering what's going on with this God thing? You aren't able to locate the friend, so you sit down in the back corner near the exit. During the greeting, you exchange hollow handshakes with your neighbors, who speak to each other like family but seemingly ignore you completely. During the worship service, you see some people singing, but others standing there with a countenance that looks like indifference and annoyance, not awe and wonder at the God about whom they are singing. This bothers you so much that you don't even listen to the sermon, and as you leave the church, you are ignored again while people chat away as they leave the chapel.

Did the church "love their neighbor" as itself? Did they do their part in letting this guest know that Jesus is "seeking and saving the lost?" Maybe this person knew a little about Jesus at the time...but he certainly didn't see Him in the people he just met.

Instead, the disenchanted visitor leaves in search of something to fill the void, and given the pervasive nature of these "good" movements in our culture, they are easily drawn in to these groups. They are taking on new disciples each week, they openly welcome new "converts", there is a wealth of information available for any questions or doubts, they hold events and meetings where people are inviting and understanding, with an undercurrent of whatever the cause may be uniting them, and they offer a greater cause than themselves in order to help seekers fill that void in their soul.

I'm as guilty as any of the people I just villified; we all are. We believe that the people who need to tell the guests about Jesus are the pastor, the elders, those who serve at the welcome reception, the Evangelism Explosion group, missionaries, deacons, Sunday school teachers...anyone but us.

We are not in competition with these movements. God created all of the things that are being worshiped: the earth, the animal kingdom, our beautiful natural resources, and the human race. Instead of treating these things as God has commanded us to (responsible dominion of nature in Genesis 1:28, conducting ourselves in love with others in 1 Corinthians 13), we have declared these movements as worship of idols or man, and in our condescension we seem to condone the abusive or apathetic behaviors that they seek to eradicate.

What would happen if a church started to plant trees on Saturdays? If it hosted a mobile pet vaccination center? If it hosted a forum on racism? (Please do not equate this with any sort of ecumenical meetings; that's not what I'm getting at)

Would it be guilty of giving in to environmentalist "nutjobs"? Would it be complacent with these "anti-God" humanisitc movements? Would it give undue veneration to animals?

No.

Each of these movements could very easily be Christ-centered. Call it "Caring for Creation" or "All God's Creatures" or something else catchy, and exemplify the Biblical teaching regarding these elements of our world. They would be awesome outreach opportunities, showing people that Christians aren't an exclusive club that gets together and talks about each other and maybe talks about God between the gossip.

As Christians, we could stand to do some "good" for the world around us. We are not supposed to only do good on Wednesday night and Sunday morning. We aren't supposed to be a bright light under the "basket" of the church; we are supposed to shine the bright light of Christ on the lampstand of the world! Jesus said in Matthew 5:16,

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

I pray that God will change my heart and yours, that we would not treat these people as willful enemies of God, but sheep that have lost their way and followed the wrong shepherd. Many will never come to know Him, but He rejoices for each one that is found. God bless!

More of the same...

U.S. churches reach out with coffee and roller rinks - Reuters

I was speaking a couple of days ago about the fine line between "truth" and "love" in modern-day Christianity, and regarded how it is easy to be guilty of promoting one over the other. While I was guilty in my posting of proclaiming the truth without love, many of our modern-day churches do the exact opposite. This article was on my "Yahoo! Religious News" feed this morning, and once again, the journalist did a great job of preparing me for what was in store when I read the full piece.

The churches mentioned in the article have begun to not only bring entertainment and activities into their church sphere, but eschew the ideas of "traditional" (read: boring, resulting in waning attendance) church services and structure all together. That does not mean the Gospel is not being properly preached, but it does make you question if people can stop rollerskating or step away from their mocha half-caf whip latte long enough to be "bothered" by a sermon.

I have been reading John MacArthur's The Gospel According to Jesus for the past couple of weeks, and it has reminded me nightly about how we as Christians are known to the outside world and to other Christians.

There are a couple of quotes that I want to take from the article to begin that discussion:

"Congregations are trying to find a way to tie people together, but also find ways to present the Christian message that isn't so direct or in-your-face, to present a side door into the life of the church," said Scott Thumma, a religious sociologist at the Hartford Institute for Religious Research.

"The megachurch especially has really led the way in these kinds of strategies," he said. "What a lot of congregations want is to have multiple avenues open so that they can bypass the resistance people have when they hear the word 'church' or 'Jesus,' whether it is a coffee shop or a bowling alley."

To be fair, this is not a member of the pastorate, and I would be surprised if he was a Christian at all. But there is a particular part of what he said that should alarm anyone subscribing to this blog:

"the resistance people have when they hear the word 'church' or 'Jesus,'"

Paul in 2 Timothy 4 tells those who preach the Word (which, in essence, should be all Christians) that they should be steadfast and unashamed for Christ, that people should be reminded and confronted with their sin. True teachers will do that, because many will turn away for a kinder, gentler gospel. 2 Tim 4:1-5 (NKJV):

I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Sound doctrine is Biblical doctrine, and any other gospel is mere "fable". "Itching" is translated from the Greek "knetho", which means to itch or tickle. This seems to me to imply that the true and living Gospel is like a buzzing fly to the unregenerate believer or nonbeliever. It won't go away, it just keeps coming back...but they want no part of it. They would rather hear a new gospel, one which is pleasing to the ears: a message that their God is one of love, acceptance, and tolerance. It's too "itchy" and "abrasive" to remind a congregation or group of their depravity and separation from God without the crosswork of Christ. One blog that I read recently quoted Curtis C. Thomas': "The truth should comfort the hurting but also unsettle the comfortable."


Another quote from the article which gave me an uneasy feeling was the following from a "lifelong church member":

"When you're in a community, you're trying to gather people whichever way you can, and sometimes you can disguise your message with extracurricular activities," said Tamela Booker, 34, an insurance worker and lifelong church member.

"We want to reach out to the community with God's message with things people can relate to, so they feel loved."

While I recognize that Ms. Booker is not clergy, nor is her statement and spiritual health indicative of the larger body, given the tone of the article and the "fruits" of her church described in the article, I believe this quote can be representative of the general attitude of this movement.

"Gather people any way you can,"
"disguise your message"
"...God's message with things people can relate to,"

Once again, this article is not meant to question this new method of offering community services in order to expand evangelistic outreach to a community; churches are and should continue to offer opportunities for individuals and families to find their way into a church family...but the number one reason for all of the softball leagues, rollerskating rinks and Starbucks coffee shops in the lobbies of our churches is the same: To spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I can only hope that Ms. Booker has talked to her pastoral staff once they read her comments, and reminded her of this fact. These activities are not supposed to "trick" people into coming to church. They are not to "disguise" the message of Christ!

Like the man who build his house on a foundation of sand in Matthew 7, those churches and the individuals who attend due to "disguised" activities that do not take heed to Christ's message of repentance and turning away from sin to holiness will blow away at the first sign of trouble.

Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost. The words "accept Christ" appear nowhere in the Bible. Those who recognize their sin, and turn from it because of the awesome gift of His son, and bear spiritual fruit of their new life in Him are true believers. As such, we must not water down our message to appeal to those who are wrapped up in our modern culture. We must seek to make disciples with "all longsuffering and teaching," offering the culture-transcending message of repentance and forgiveness through Him.

Dr. D. James Kennedy Retires from Full-Time Ministry

Story on onenewsnow.com

Dr. D. James Kennedy has retired from full-time ministry at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Despite the issues that I have with the practice of "Evangelism Explosion!", Dr. Kennedy through his ministry, radio programs and EE has made an indelible impact on modern-day Evangelical Christianity. I wish him well in his twilight years, and hope that God blesses me and those around me with even a fraction of the opportunity to make an impact for Christ that Dr. Kennedy was given.

Aletheuo + Agape

After consulting with someone in whom I have great trust and respect, I feel the need to adjust my tone and demeanor in writing this blog. My frustration with those who marginalize and “water down” the message of Jesus Christ and add or take things away from the work of His cross has led me to write in a condescending manner. Instead of castigating those who are apparent “enemies”, I must realize that they are merely a mission field, many of whom seek the Truth but are misled.

I don’t have license over the Truth; no man does. I am a wretched sinner who depends on nothing but God’s grace and forgiveness to make it through the day. I share my thoughts because I believe that I have been blessed with an excellent education and desire to study His Word, and as such have made it my goal to view the events and thoughts of my world and the world around me through the lens of the Truth.

For example, my blog takes its title from Romans 9:1-

“I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,”

The Greek word for “truth” in this verse is aletheia, which is the noun form (more on this word later). That short phrase caught my eye because that is what I am to do in my life; speak aletheia in Christ. In hastily picking this handful of words for my blog title, I missed the greater message that God through Paul was trying to convey. Romans 9:1-5 in full speaks of Paul’s anguish that his former brothers have not accepted the Gospel, and he wishes that he, arguably the most holy human being in history, could take the place of his unrepentant peers:

I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

This passage made me consider my personal stance: do I share Paul’s degree of love? Would I want to give up my God, my salvation, my eternal life so that others could know Him? I don’t honestly know how to answer than question.

A second passage that had an influence on me during the study was Ephesians 4:11-16, in which Paul is speaking to and of the body of Christ, and exhorts it to work together and grow, shaking off evil, deceitful teachings and instead walk the difficult but necessary line between truth and love:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

The church grows and becomes healthier as its members pursue not only the ultimate Truth, but do so in love. The Greek αληθευοντες δε εν αγαπη or “alatheuo de en agape”(coarsely translated “speak the truth, but in love.”) is another instance of the balance necessary between truth and love. The word “but” is powerful, especially in Romans where Paul uses it to demarcate our separation from God, and after salvation by grace and faith, subsequent union with God (Romans 3:20-23, 6:21-22, 7:5-6). His command rings true with me: if this blog and my personal ministry is to build up the body of Christ, it must be done balancing truth and love.

This line is one that many contemporary evangelistic outreaches fail to walk as well, but in a different way. There is too much love, and not enough truth. Instead of making people aware of their sin, they merely offer Jesus as a psychological panacea to assuage the uncertainties and lack of direction in life. I am as guilty as these groups, if not more so. I believe that through my study and research that my interpretation of the Bible and the events with which I contrast it are true and correct. However, the method I used to achieve the pursuit of truth was condescending, arrogant and adbrasive; had those I referenced in the article read my comments, they would have taken away a totally different view of Christendom (and Jesus Himself, whom I am commanded to represent) that I would have hoped.

Pray that God would work in my heart to follow the example of Christ and his apostles, to reveal His liberating, awe-inspiring truth, BUT in love…that I would not ignore nor overstate the offensive, damning nature of the Bible’s warnings and admonitions to the unbeliever, but instead mate those heartbreaking declarations of sinfulness and separation with the refreshing truth of His forgiveness and justification through faith in the Son, Jesus Christ.

Once again, I spend an hour writing something, and God sums it up in three sentences. 1 Peter 3:14-16 states:

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

Until next time!

Article - Missionaries better play by the rules...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHRISTIANS_CONVERSION_CODE?SITE=WIFON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT AP Article

http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07499.htm Article from PC(USA) website.


Dear friends, I can’t even begin to explain how much this article troubles me. This title was at the top of Yahoo! Religious News, and hit me like a ton of bricks. A “conversion code of conduct” is apparently in the works between the Catholic Church and an organization of which I have never heard called the World Council of Churches, an ecumenical group representing a whopping 347 churches worldwide. To give you an idea of the size of this organization…if every church in Cary, North Carolina (population ~80,000) were to join the organization, it would grow by 20 percent. Now that’s what I call a mandate!

Now that I have that out of my system, let’s delve into this article:

The code aims to ease tensions with Muslims, Hindus and other religious groups that fear losing adherents and resort to punishments as extreme as imprisonment and even death for converts from their faith and foreign missionaries. (AP)

The people that the Holy Spirit has called to the Gospel in these countries are examples to us all. Living in the “Bible Belt” of the USA, the only oppression we face is from the public education system, stand-up comics and the Discovery Channel. These champions of the faith risk death every minute of every day. What inspiration! The Apostle Paul faced similar persecution, and rejoiced in it. Philippians 1:19-21:

“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (NKJV).

The audacity of these enemies of evangelism to proclaim that watering down the Gospel and preventing brave missionaries from preaching the Word is in someway benefiting them is truly disgusting.

(AP) Evangelization also has caused concern among the branches of Christianity because of the vigor with which Pentecostal and evangelical congregations have led the drive for conversions around the world, outstripping the growth of older churches. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Brazil in May was partly a response to
the exodus of millions of Catholics to Protestant evangelical churches.

(From the PCUSA.org article) Tensions have also arisen among Christian denominations, including Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox, over what has been called “sheep stealing,” or engaging in conversion by encroaching into areas where one church has traditionally dominated.

“Sheep stealing”? So…liberating someone from the religiosity of their society to the Truth is unfair? Do we all have to have the same number of Lego blocks?! Jesus spoke to the Jews in John 10:27-29:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” (NKJV)

They demanded for demonstration of His claim as Savior, and He told them plainly that they that did not believe because they were not his sheep…they would never believe. His sheep know Him. The religious and social bonds of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches are not easily broken, but those whom He has called will follow Him, no matter how many restrictions and handicaps are put on those who preach the Truth.

Finally (saved the best for last), from the PCUSA article:

While preserving the right to propagate one’s faith, the code of conduct would emphasize respect for the faithful of any religion, noted Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia and co-moderator of the WCC’s Faith and Order Commission. “Religious preachers need to be told that no religion has monopoly to the truth, that there are many ways to find salvation,” said Shastri.

I am literally shaking my head. Mr. Shastri’s group, the Council of Churches of Malaysia, states the following as the first sentence of their mission:

[The Council is founded] on a common belief that God has revealed His eternal purpose for mankind in His Son Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit. Its members accept the scriptures of the old and new testaments as the supreme standard of faith and practice, and confess their common faith as expressed in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds.

This is what the delusion of the Gospel message under the banner of ecumenism has accomplished. A prominent member of an organization that is representing (without authority. mind you) Protestant denominations worldwide declares that there is no truth, and there are multiple avenues of salvation. Wow. I don’t need to break down the Greek language or provide contextual proof. Our Lord Jesus Christ said it all in John 14:6:

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (NKJV)

I’ve been at this for about an hour now, and it commands much more of my time, but I need to get some sleep.
Please pray for God’s Will to be done in our lives; my grandfather suffered a heart attack this afternoon, and we are still awaiting a prognosis. Pray for strength for my family and I, and that in this experience and trauma that

News - PETA and Genesis 1:28

Source for news story: PETA slams "shocking" Hamas TV clip (AP)

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (though tempted, I will not make the whole post about this contradictory, severely "off-balance" group) is condemning Hamas for some YouTube clips of a TV show that depicts its characters "mistreating" animals at the Gaza Zoo.

While unnecessary violence against animals should be deplored, why does it take animal abuse for the hierarchy of a major NGO to protest against a proven terrorist regime? What about the suicide bombings, subjugation of women and children, and the brainwashing of young men to ideas of martyrdom? "Oh, turn the news off, I don't feel like hearing about killing innocent human beings...what??? animal abuse?! we must spring into action right away!"

Despite the ridiculous nature of PETA, they did bring to mind an idea that my Bible Study partner and I were speaking about the other night: The idea of dominion over animals and the environment, most notably Genesis 1:28.

"Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (NASB).

The phrase "rule over" in this verse comes from the Hebrew radah: to tread down, i.e. subjugate; specifically, to crumble off -- (come to, make to) have dominion, prevail against, reign, (bear, make to) rule,(-r, over), take.

Other places this word is used in the Old Testament refer to a king's rule (Levicticus, 1 & 2 Kings), both over his people and over his enemies. So, naturally, many Biblical scholars have taken this to mean that man rules nature with complete control, some go as far as to legitimize environmental abuse.

But, the most objective way for a Christian to determine what God is trying to impart through Scripture, is to study it in light of other Scripture. A verse that seems to be in conflict with this verse is Genesis 2:7.

"Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." (NASB)

While God still created us, we are created of nature, like plants and animals were in Gen 1:12 and 1:20, respectively. So, which is it? Are we supposed to rule over nature with an iron fist, or do we exist to care and be responsible for nature?

Like many of the doctrines in God's Word, it is necessary to study further and not take a single verse or passage at face value. The synergy of these two verses helps us to understand what the Bible says about our manner of "dominion" over the Earth. Now, I am not going to go as far as PETA and say that an animal life is equal to a human life, nor will I say that God is not in control and human beings are destroying the Earth with global warming, and there is nothing He can do to stop it. But our King of Kings, while all-powerful and mighty, also cares for us and protects us, both from harm and from ourselves. In that spirit, Christians should take an active role in caring for animals and the earth itself, but fall short of joining and subscribing to the mantra of those groups which place human actions and the lives of the "beasts of the field" alongside or above God's sovereignty.

God is in control. I wouldn't want to live in a world where he did not radah everything. Now that would be a disaster!

"Assumption Day"

This event popped up on my BlackBerry under the heading "Christian Religious Holidays". Since I had never heard of this day before, I decided to look it up (having a vague idea of what I was in for).

August 15th, for Roman Catholicism, commemorates their belief that the Virgin Mary transcended a human death and God assumed her into Heaven. I did a little bit of reading on the subject, and here's what I found:

Background: "The Assumption of Mary" by Fr. William Saunders (link)

This is among the three most controversial doctrines of Mary (Immaculate Conception (1854), Assumption (1950) and the yet-to-be-formalized doctrine of Mary as mediatrix and co-redemptrix) that use extra-Biblical support.


Karl Keating states of the objection to Mary's need for a Savior:

• "The Church has a simple and sensible answer to this difficulty. It is this: Mary, too, required a Savior. Like all other descendants of Adam, by her nature she was subject to the necessity of contracting Original Sin. But by a special intervention of God, undertaken at the instant she was conceived, she was preserved from the stain of Original Sin and certain of its consequences. She was therefore redeemed by the grace of Christ, but in a special way, by anticipation. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception thus does not contradict Luke 1:47."

What is the evidence of this special intervention of God? "Blessed among (not above) women", nor "full of grace" imply that Mary was given a providencial preservation from originial sin. Catholics do not believe that Mary was conceived supernaturally, either. There is no Biblical evidence of this "special intervention" found anywhere. This doesn't stop the doctrine or Mr. Keating's explanation of it...he ends his apologetic entry with the following paragraphs:

• Still, fundamentalists ask, where is the proof from Scripture? Strictly, there is none. It was the Catholic Church that was commissioned by Christ to teach all nations and to teach them infallibly. The mere fact that the Church teaches the doctrine of the Assumption as something definitely true is a guarantee that it is true.
  Here, of course, we get into an entirely separate matter, the question of sola scriptura. There is no room in this tract to consider that idea. Let it just be said that if the position of the Catholic Church is true, then the notion of sola scriptura is false. There is then no problem with the Church officially defining a doctrine which, though not in contradiction to Scripture, cannot be found on its face.

There you have it: We say we have the authority (nowhere in Scripture is a "commission" found for the Papacy, the Magisterium or any other bueraucratic office of the Catholic Church; this is a declaration of men), therefore we have the authority; our authority is exclusive, and because we have the authority and it is exclusive, anything we say is authortative and exclusive.

It's like an ad hominem fallacy, circular logic and a straw man argument all rolled into one.

It is often that they encourage doubters to seek documents of the church for clarification. It's as if someone doubted my unsupported assertion that the sky was red, and in that doubt, I asked them to read my newest book, "The Sky is Red".

I can at least respect the latter bold statement, because we as Christians espouse the contrary: If Sola Scriptura is true, then the extra-Biblical doctrines of the Catholic Church are false.

I continue to study Catholic doctrine among my normal Bible study, and how Protestants (and Catholics alike) can be trying to accelerate an ecumenical movement between the two is beyond me. These differences are not "surface level"; they go right to the core of the faiths respectively, and any compromise in them is simply inconceivable. Both have every right to view the other as a mission field, not like-minded brothers (or should I use cousins?).

I do not hate Catholics; I earnestly pray for God's revelation of His free gift of salvation in the crosswork of Jesus Christ to all who seek Him.

Illustration - Word Document

This just came to me, and it may be that it's 3:30am, but I thought it to be a neat little illustration.

When you open up a document on your computer, it is a blank screen, ready to be typed upon. You can type a couple of words, or you can jazz it up with pictures, borders, some columns maybe...anything to make it cool-looking. When you hit the "X" button at the top of the screen, you are, by closing the program, ending the life of the document. All of the words on the page, whether 2 or 2,000, do not matter; the document will be destroyed upon exit. But a little dialog box pops up, and asks you a great question: "Document1 has not been saved. Would you like to keep it?" The document, no matter how cool-looking or productive or fancy it is, will be deleted if it is not saved before exiting the word procesor...

If you are that document, no matter how many things you have done in your life to please God, no matter how many cool "features" your life may have, when the X button is pressed on your life, what will happen next? Will you be deleted, erased from memory, gone forever with no way to be recovered? Or will God, through your repentance of sins and declaration of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, have pressed the "Save" button, and permanently inscribed your file name in His (and this is a stretch) "Hard Drive of Life"?

Wow, now that I write that, I can tell that is a 3:45am kind of illustration. Comments on that are greatly welcomed! Oh well, at least He forgives me for lame posts :-) Goodnight everyone!

Event - TableTalk

In the spirit of Martin Luther's book of conversations with a captive audience, Shepherd's Seminary hosts bi-annual conferences called TableTalk to bring together seminarians, local pastors and church elders in an academic setting to learn how to better equip themselves to worship God, and through the material presented, help those they serve worship Him as well.

This weekend's event was called "Feeding the Hungry Soul," featuring the Associate Pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, Rick Holland. GCC is, of course, the home of John MacArthur, whose expert exposition of the Bible continues to bless me daily, as it has millions of others before me. The president of the Seminary (and Senior Pastor of Colonial Baptist Church), Stephen Davey, was also part of the event.

While I was not what you might call the "target audience" for the conference, I knew that learning more about God's Word would be profitable for this "ministry," as well as any future position in which God would have me serve.

Rick and Stephen both did an excellent job at providing Biblical evidence and real-world illustration for the importance of Bible exposition in teaching ministry (whether it be a church flock, or merely a small group Bible study).

I will update the link to the audio and/or transcript when it is posted, but below are some "bullet points" that spoke to my heart:

• The text can never "mean" what it never "meant"- One of the dangers of modern-day Bible studies is what is known as "reader-response theory," that is, a Bible verse or passage can mean any number of things to any number of people, and that is acceptable. This is characteristic of "topical preaching" (e.g. Purpose-Driven Church-type congregations), and is dangerous because the contextual and practical message that God is speaking through the Word is muddled and lost. Without proper exegesis and subsequent exposition, the power and importance of the verse can be lost simply by someone ascribing it less or more value based on their personal opinion. ALL Scripture is profitable for teaching (2 Tim 3:16), and needs to be treated as such. Do not ask your Bible study group "What does this verse mean to you?" Instead, ask them after careful and planned instruction, "In light of God's truth in this verse, how can we apply what we have learned to our lives?" Excellent point by Pastor Holland.
• Only Bible Expositors can deflect the "glory" back to God- When preachers are finished with their sermon (or Bible study teachers finish a lesson), they are often approached and thanked/applauded by a member of the church or group. When this happens, the pastor is glorified instead of God (Hendricks called it the "glorification of the worm"). If the message was topical, sprinkled with surface-level Bible verses and creative stories, the pastor is due the credit: "Man, I was on fire today. I really came up with some good stuff!" When the Word of God is preached, the Pastor can successfully deflect the glory right back to God, instead saying "thank you for your kind words; isn't God's Word amazing?"
• Always assume there is an unbeliever present- With all of the exposition going on, it is easy to get wrapped up in word studies and grammar analysis and related passages, but we must not forget that there may be an unbeliever amongst the believers, and the Gospel must shine through. Historical and Old Testament books seem hard to relate to Christ and His redeeming work, but we need to make sure that we don't get so wrapped around the axle with the verse that we neglect the Gospel. Make sure the Gospel is in every presentation.
• Pray, and live the message- Both pastors believe that prayer bookends all aspects of life, especially when having the responsibility of teaching God's word. Without prayers of repentance, clarity of thought, diligence and praise, it is difficult to achieve all of the objectives of the study of God's Word. Concurrent with prayer is living the Word you preach; if you don't internalize and embody the truth evident in Scripture, how can you expect it of those you teach?

I could go on and on, but I have to get up for said church in a few short hours, and you will see by the timestamp it is very late! Pastor Holland is speaking tomorrow as well; I look forward to his messages. Praise be to Him!

First Post

Here's my first blog post...my wife doesn't like blogs because she says that they are nerdy and a waste of time. In many instances, both of her assertions are, in fact, true. Because of that, most of my posts will be short comments regarding a new resource that I have found, a Bible-based view of news stories going on around us (with an election coming up, all sorts of interesting socio-religious stories and opinions are due to arise), and other general observations and musings from my personal study with the Lord.

It's lunchtime, and this is my time to read John MacArthur sermons, listen to Podcasts, and eat the turkey sandwich my wife prepared for me. Happy Friday!