Hearken, O’ Earth

Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face.
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

True Religion

This will be the final post in this series. In the last post, we briefly examined the destruction that the tongue is capable of. While James does not limit destructive speech solely to that which is spoken in unrighteous anger, we must see that all that is said in unrighteous anger is destructive. Our words have power to build up the church or to lay waste to it. We shall either love our brethren, or we shall tear them to pieces and consume them. For those within the church – we have no excuse to remain indignant toward one another, nor to exhibit a lack of self control. Remember, our actions and words will build the testimony of our faith. Can we say, “Come follow me as I follow Jesus?”

Even if the angry man can recite sound doctrine, he still lacks the necessary self-control to protect the church, his family, and his own soul. As James puts it, he lacks “true religion”. As Proverbs 25:28 shows, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” The sheer lack of protection from invading forces leaves all those within his wake to be devoured, not only by the angry man – but Satan, as he is a lion constantly seeking whom he may devour. The wise man continually builds up those around him, hedging protection through the proclamation of the Word of God – yet also abiding in the Fruit of the Spirit in order to evidence “true religion”.

While it is natural for the carnal man to abide in sin, it is not natural for the one following Christ. He is no longer dead in his sins due to the redemption found in Christ. Not only this, but through the power of the Spirit, we are able to put sin to death in our lives. For the sake of unity within the body of Christ, we ought to pursue peace. This is not some psycho-therapeutic ritual in which we count to ten, go for a walk, or perform any other outlet in order to calm down. No. We strive to walk in the Spirit because the law of the flesh no longer binds us.

Quite simply, it is a matter of obedience to do what we are called to do.

Obedience may not always be easy, for we know that it does not come naturally. We are sown in sin and inclined to perform sinful deeds. However, we are new creations in Christ if we have called upon Him for salvation and submitted to His Lordship. We know that He is faithful. We know that He alone gives power where we are weak. We know that it is His will that we repent from our sins and turn to Him each day for fresh mercies.

If you are an angry person, you cannot do it alone. This is specifically why we gather with the elect: that we might know our sin and come to repentance, having faced rebuke and correction. Where there is a broken and contrite heart; where there is remorse and godly sorrow, there is pleasure in Him to forgive us in Christ.

Lay aside all pride and come to the One who can make the crooked straight. Lay aside all pride and receive the correction of the saints who desire earnestly for your repentance and continued faith, hating even the garments tainted with sin.

 

Closing Prayer: Father, forgive us this day for our sins. We thank You that You were so utterly pleased to crush your Son for us – that as a church we may stand before You, pure and blameless through Christ alone. Father, our hearts know greed, envy, strife, maliciousness, backbiting, slander, and lust. Father, our hearts know hatred, deception, lies, murder, and covetousness – for we once practiced these things. Your word says that those who make a practice of such things cannot inherit the kingdom of God; that we cannot obtain the crown of righteousness.

Remind us of the sacrifice that Christ has made, that we not act as the Pharisees who sat and boasted of their cleanness, but may we beat our breasts as sinners. Cause us to draw near through Your Son, by Your Spirit, that we might be sanctified in truth and know graciousness, patience, kindness, forbearance, and longsuffering – for against such things there is no law. Fulfill in us Your promises in Christ that we might walk in an upright manner representing the gospel and the fullness of the deity of Christ – that He has come and conquered sin; that He has come to set the captive free. Cause us to rejoice in the cross of Christ and the everlasting hope we have in His resurrection, and by this, put the sin of anger to death. It is in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Disciplining My Father

I drove to my parent’s house asking only one thing: that I would be blameless and approach my father in humility. I was recalling the advice of my pastor whom I had met with just two days previously. After reading emails and listening to my explanation, he advised that I firmly and swiftly deal with it, reminding me to approach my dad in respect, love, and even temperament, yet unflinchingly in dealing with his sin.

I pulled into the driveway and what ensued was an hour and a half of angry and accusative speech at me; he didn’t have any problems with sin and how dare I judge. I came home in a blur and vomited as soon as I walked in the door.

Over the next several weeks, I would talk with him briefly. Each time I did not let the issue of his sin die. He would not repent; therefore, I would not relent.

That’s when he had a heart attack.

I vividly remember seeing my father lying in the ICU; my mother and sister in tears assuring him things would be ok. He looked at me but couldn’t speak, though his look almost assured me that he didn’t want me there.

My mom pulled me aside and begged me to let things be. “Time will heal all wounds,” was the conventional wisdom given. She told me that life is too short. My grandparents called and also begged that I would let things go. “We are to love one another,” was the wisdom given by them.

What both my mother and grandparents never realized was that time does not heal anything. Time only allows the heart to grow hardened and for sin to go unchecked. Secondly, better is open rebuke than hidden love (Pro. 27:5); at some point you have to stick the knife in (Pro. 27:6) and exercise discipline to those in the faith (Matt. 18:15-20). It is never easy nor joyful, but utterly necessary.

I spoke to my father again a few times after his hospitalization. He understood that there was still a rift in our relationship because I did not bring my children or wife to see him. Within the week of his hospitalization, I called to wish him a happy birthday.

We spoke for about 2 minutes before the conversation went back to the issue of sin. He had asked that we come to visit, and I told him still that we needed to reconcile and he needed to repent before that could happen. He yelled at me again, called me a fool once more, and told me, “I hope you have a nice life. I wouldn’t even expect Christmas cards in the mail for you or the kids.”

Two days went by and I didn’t hear from either of my parents. On the 17^th of December, I worked as usual and received a phone call from my mom. I ignored it, thinking that it was just too much for me to handle while working. Immediately, I got another call that I answered hesitantly.

My dad had died from a massive heart attack.

I remember my anger bubbling when looking at my father’s corpse on the floor. I wasn’t mad at God, I was mad at him. Here was a dead man that I couldn’t reconcile with. Here was my father who willingly went to the grave clutching tightly to his sin.

Yet what I remember more was the great love poured out from all the members of my church. I remember being gently rebuked by my pastor as I confided in him, thinking wrongly that there was no redemptive moment in everything that happened. He and the elders affirmed what I had done, as I made nothing secret through the process. I remember the sovereignty of God in the midst of my heartbreak; He was not surprised by me not finding reconciliation with the man whose affections I so desperately wanted restored.

Few things in my life have been as hard as the day I went to confront my father. The details of his sin are not necessary, nor all the interactions we had during the confrontation, but the story itself is vital. It was vital in seeing church discipline worked out personally; it would work wondrous things within my own heart to conform me into greater likeness to Christ.

It would confirm in me the immediate demand for repentance when being confronted. It would draw the dividing line of the gospel and confirm how I view God and His church. It would be one of the most agonizing things to have transpire in my life – yet it would also truly exhibit how great our sovereign Lord is.

It was the day that I stepped out in faith to obey God’s Word and I did not find the blessings of reconciliation I expected and coveted. What I found was a blessing all the more wonderful.

What I found was the supreme love of Christ displayed in the hope of the gospel in a hopeless and utterly devastated world. What I found was the supreme love of Jesus Christ in His church as they ministered to me through sharing in my sufferings. The foremost of those in His church, which blessed me beyond measure, was my wife who lived up to the meaning of her name, “faithful.”

The Supremacy of Suffering

“Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:10-13, NASB).

With the commitment to follow Christ faithfully, the Christian sets upon a markedly different path than the rest of the world. It is within the confines of undeserved suffering for the sake of the gospel that we see a natural division; evil men and impostors will not suffer (in innocence), but proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived by their contemporary deceivers. They belong to their father, Satan; the father of lies.

Yet the one who suffers for Christ’s sake will not only find growth in godliness, but deliverance by the Lord from trials. However, this deliverance does not always mean the avoidance of a painful death, as we see that Paul even knows he will inevitably meet this end (2 Tim. 4:6).

Instead though, we find from many today the desire to avoid pain and suffering at all costs. Many who claim Christ even fall headlong into believing the foolish worldview that all suffering is evil, leading some to call the crucifixion “cosmic child abuse” because a truly loving God would not allow such atrocities to fall upon His Son.

For the one who truly follows Christ, suffering for His sake is unavoidable (Matt. 10:22-23; John 15:20). If we do not suffer in the least for professing His name, we ought to ask if we have truly followed Him, and not sought to “put our hand to the plow, yet look back” (Luke 9:62).

For any who are left wondering if we are called to prosperity and health, I would simply look at the life of those who profess and teach it. Have they grown in godliness through suffering – or – have they grown in wickedness, licentiousness, backbiting, adultery, deception, and any other practices of those whom cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:8-10)?

I have heard many who look at such teachings and teachers only to say, “I will do what God tells me to do” in response to any criticism. While we do well to “do what God tells us to do,” if what we believe He is telling us is not found within His Word in it’s proper context, we may well find that we are impostors, unwilling to suffer for the name of Jesus and inherit our reward in heaven, yet willing to “name and claim” our reward in this life. This belief is contrary to the gospel.

Cherry picking the scriptures in order to tickle our own ears will only lead to us rejecting sound doctrine and turning aside to myths and fables (2 Tim. 4:3-4). The deceived therefore turn into deceivers, heaping gasoline upon the stubble and hay that is their foundation already on course to be consumed by fire (1 Cor. 3:12-13).

One of the many issues on doctrines such as these is that they propagate a false view of Jesus Christ. They breed theologies that picture Jesus saying, Come follow me for your Beemer. Come follow me for your secure job. Come follow me for perfect health. Come follow me for your paid bills, stocked fridge, comfy bed, and children. Come follow me to be rid of any and all suffering on earth.

Yet Jesus did not promise freedom from pain and suffering in this life. He promised only that we would have freedom from the bondage of sin, and that this freedom would bring glorious joy in Him. Joy so insurmountable that when your daughter gets cancer, you can still say, the Lord is faithful, sovereign, and Lord over all, including my daughter’s cancer; that when your husband dies in a car accident you can say, The lord giveth, the Lord taketh. Blessed be the name of the Lord; that when you can’t feed your children lunch today because you’re living paycheck to paycheck to survive, you may plead, Lord, give us this day our daily bread.

We have become so fat and happy in our friendship with this world that we have believed many of the blessings we receive are what comes with following Jesus. We lack in contentment, seeking a new job every other couple months because we find something newer and better, only so we can amass more toys or buy a new home. We have delighted in building treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy. Is it any wonder then that even though we say we despise the prosperity gospel that we tend to believe it just a little bit ourselves?

Yes, all good things come from the Lord, in whom there is no variance (James 1:17); yet is it not amazing that immediately before James pens this, he urges for persevering and rejoicing in the midst of our trials?

Where is our treasure? Wherever it is, there the desires of our heart are also (Matt. 6:21). Is it Jesus? We know the good Christian answer is “yes,” but is it really Jesus? If it is, then we will desire godliness, and for the sake of this, persecution.

Now do not mistake that I mean we will outright seek to be flogged and beaten, but simply that to desire godliness is to desire persecution, for we know from Paul implication to young Timothy that they will go hand in hand. Christ even told us that if we follow Him, we will suffer as well. To desire to follow Christ is to desire to pick up the means of our execution and carry it to the place of our execution (Matt. 6:24). It is that radical.

Notice how closely in context here that we see Christ speaking about the desires of our hearts only to go on and say that if we desire Him, we will be willing to die to self – for He is the utmost treasure of our hearts. It is complete sacrifice. It is becoming the least of all men so that Christ may be made the greatest in the sight of those who look upon us. It is being willing to endure through all kinds of suffering and malevolent treatment for the sake of the gospel so that we may rejoice in it, counting every second as beautiful because the gospel has been evidenced and Christ has been exalted.

 

“God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering” – Augustine

Better is the House of Mourning

Whether I am old or young, wise or foolish, healthy or sick, wealthy or poor, academically brilliant or lacking in understanding, I am going to die at an unsuspecting time. I may die on my usual car ride home today, leaving behind my children, wife, family, and church. I may find a year from now that I have a debilitating disease that will slowly degrade my health and mental faculties. I may live until I am 100. In all of this, I have no clue when the Lord will remove me nor can I be prepared for the route I am to take. The older I get, the closer I come.

The one true commonality all men share is death. It is, to borrow a popular phrase, the great equalizer. No matter the recipient, it is always faithful to deliver. Whatever feelings we have about attending funerals, the scriptures declare them to be good for one simple reason: they succinctly display our mortality.

Of all the feasts I have attended, whether a wedding, potluck, party, or the annual white elephant gift exchange in my community group, I cannot remember a single time where I was not joyous and left refreshed. The feasts I enjoy the most are with those whom declare Christ as Lord and Savior, as I enjoy the sweet fellowship, laughter, and good food and drink with them.

Yet, while I live – the memorial service I attended last week is declared to be better.

The sorrow I felt for my friend in losing his sister; the tears that came to me as I watched a father weep bitterly over losing his little girl; the common man and woman whom I’d never met sobbing without a care to dignity over the loss of their friend; all of this was better than my joyous feasts.

For those in the crowd who were in Christ, this time, as bitter as it was, reminded them of the immense beauty found in the gospel. For the father and family, it gave them assurance in knowing that their daughter believed the gospel and that one future day, they would join her in paradise.

It also reminded all of us of the promises we have in Christ; one day pain, death, sickness, sin, misery, and all the like will be fully done away with. We will join Christ in sweet, full fellowship. No hindrances; nothing that slows us down; no more race to run, fight to fight, and faith to keep. The gospel in all its goodness will be realized in us and we will be cleansed with fire, entering into the presence of our beautiful Savior for all of eternity. For this reason we rejoice in the midst of sorrow.

Yet, it also reminds the believer of the need for repentance. It reminded me of my desire to pastor, and my need for greater maturity, devotion, and discipline in my life. If we rejoice in the midst of sorrow and neglect sober reflection of our own position, we may well miss a chance to grow in wisdom.

The scriptures are replete with what the believer is responsible for, yet witnessing death brings such things to light very suddenly and fearfully if we are not found in obedience to them. Very plainly, death causes us to realize just how stiff-necked and human we really are. It reveals the consequences of sin.

I addressed how this affects the believer, for I fear that often those in Christ will point to how an unbeliever needs to focus on death because of what awaits them. While this is absolutely correct, the author of Ecclesiastes does not separate the godly from the ungodly in their need for reflection. All should take it to heart and search themselves in order to bear fruit in repentance. All should take it to heart and search themselves to see whether or not they are in Christ. All should take it to heart and recognize that though “life moves on,” death is in no part the way it was supposed to be.

All should take it to heart and see that though we may die in the flesh, that is not the end; for though death is the great equalizer, what comes after surely is not.

Word of Faith Movement: A Response

It is patently unbiblical (Not found within scripture)

The troublesome thing within this entire movement is the blatant disregard to the scriptures in their proper context. While they may utilize the scriptures to support their claims, none of them speak to the immediate context of the verse. You don’t have to be any sort of biblical scholar to see this – all you have to do is read some of the surrounding verses to know that the context does not line up.

Take for example, the Prayer of Jabez. They utilize this, quoting from 1 Chronicles 4:10 to express the promise that God will increase their possessions, and keep them from harm. His name is only included in 3 verses within the whole of scripture: 1 Chronicles 2:55, 4:9, 4:10. However, it should be noted that the usage in 1 Chronicles 2:55 is not even the same Jabez… it’s a town. In the other verses, we find this small excerpt in the midst of a long genealogy.

It is blatantly anti-biblical (Contrary to the message of scripture)

There are numerous scriptures that contradict all of these teachings, many of which can be found simply in the exact immediate context of the verses they quote to support such claims. The extraordinary thing in this though is that somehow, though the Evangelical church has strongly combated all of these heresies, the heresy still thrives – even inside the church.

They admire the proponents of these heresies for their positive attitudes, their charm, and their bold claims of faith. I know people who have been Christians for more than 20 years, who have read their bibles cover to cover every year and still look up to people in this movement.

It is damaging to the reputation of Christ, diminishes the gospel, and tarnishes the soul.

When doctrinal fallacies emerge and a false version of Christ is lifted up, those taking in such teaching are harmed. Ultimately, this damnable perversion of the truth is exalted and Christ is painfully misrepresented. If you read any of these quotes and didn’t find them all to be more than troubling, read your bible a bit more carefully.

If you didn’t find their widespread influence to be equally as enraging as the crap spewed out of their mouths, re-examine your faith. If we do not feel assaulted when the truth is maligned, when the gospel is perverted, when actions, thoughts, and words contrary to biblical teachings are purported as truth, we may not find ourselves being aligned with Christ.

While their ministry may appear to be helpful, given the fact that it is a false representation of the truth found in scripture, it is damnable. The millions of people aligning themselves with this kind of teaching have an incredibly low view of God, believing themselves to be gods, and claiming dominion and authority over that which they cannot possibly be in control. Like you and I have power in our words to speak things into being. There is no humility in them; there is no reliance upon God. YOU have the power to become a better, more affluent, sinless, god-person. How incredibly pretentious of a belief is that.

False prophets were put to death if they sought to mislead people from God by their prophecy, yet also if the prophecy did not come to pass (Deut. 13:1-5; 18:20-22). If you think He doesn’t deal in the same manner today, look at 2 Peter, speaking of the false teacher. Look at the book of Jude, condemning the ungodly ones whom reject authority and have the audacity to revile fallen angels (though the archangel Michael doesn’t even dare to pronounce judgment against the devil). We don’t put any faith in men like these. None.

We put our faith in those who saturate themselves in the Word, exposing the truth plainly and without deceit. We place our trust in those who have shown themselves to be earnest in doctrine and able to teach. We place affection in those who show us true love, through both the proper proclamation of the Word, and through their continued efforts to spur us on to a greater maturity. Yet when we play the harlot to Christ and seek after those whom we know to be false teachers, we allow ourselves to be weak in the faith, and immature in respect to doctrine.

There is no positive thing that has come from this movement, save that God in His mercy has rescued people from out of the pit of hell within their midst.

Ode to the Apostate

Every once in a while I’ll dig through some old writings of mine to see if there is anything worth saving. Here is an poem written about 3-4 years ago now. This would be considered an ode, written in iambic pentameter, with a few slant rhymes here and there throughout it. It’s not completed, and has simply reminded me of that task – yet also the immense joy and love I find in writing prose.

 

Though throngs of grace have no respite, ’tis not
the conscious writer’s plight. For ink and pen
shall sing again amidst the folly’s plot;
’twas not the beat which formed his doubt, but men.

For seldom can a man escape what lies
within thick mire’s wake; his rest shall flee.
His breath no longer lingers whilst he cries;
his merry song has died, once Jubilee.

And so his soul lay down to sleep, perchance
to dream of days gone by. For in his death
he left no legacy; his last romance
was not of God, but vapors on one’s breath.

Though oceans roar like lions, and thunder
would strike as cornered savages, they shan’t
empower dead men’s souls torn asunder.
No, nothing, can repair dead men’s recant.

For what we do in life shall echo in
eternity. Ill deeds ensue us day
and night, and even when both fade wherein
our judgment day is come; a son’s dismay.

The Father gave His Son, yet sinners scoff
at such a gift. This beauty never speaks
to them; tis folly, doubt they shall not doff;
a faith which only serves blind eye’s critiques.

This truth forsaken for a lie gives life
no meaning, but to die. Yet still they laugh
and carry on, forgetting justice – rife
with envy, strife and pride; their epitaph.

Such acrid agony may bid them well,
lest joyous “Christians” hold their tongues. ‘Tis blood
upon our hands if we refrain to tell,
that Christ may bring them ransomed from the flood.

So many find the darkened road to hell,
and no excuse shall come to quench His wrath.
Yet those in Christ may share some blame as well;
for worn out pews leaves empty shoes and path.

How can one come to faith unless they hear
the Word? How can one know the truth of God
when workmen are ashamed? Can one learn fear
if doctrine slips away in your facade?

Do not be swayed by ev’ry man that speaks!
Their minds are as the waves which toss both to
and fro. They are but wolves among the peaks;
to twist the truth is all they seek to do.

‘Tis not religion, farce, nor scheme, so live
like you believe this truth! Do not be as
the hypocrites! Be open as a sieve;
do not scoff at the beauty which He has!

For if you do, you may become what you
once judged. Though grace ought reign, you’ll lead imposed
as those who’s shadows haven’t slightest clue;
they claim to walk in light, yet stand opposed.

The Unfaithful Bride

I know full well that the Word does not return empty (Isaiah 55:11) nor will it ever pass away (Matthew 24:35; Isaiah 40:8); I know that the Word is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, rebuking, training in righteousness, and correcting (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21); I know that the Word is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16); I know that the Word of God is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18); I know and see how the Word causes us to rejoice in the Lord and see it as a great treasure (Psalm 119:14, 111, 162); I know that His Word is eternal and true (Psalm 119:89, 160; Psalm 111:8); I know that unbelievers will not see the truth of all these things and more unless the Spirit of God brings them illumination (Ephesians 1:17-18; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Romans 8:14).

I know – and rejoice in the fact that I cannot control the results of preaching the Word, yet in that same breath, I weep. My heart mourns over the darkness within the hearts of men, and the hardness of heart such darkness brings. I also know that it is the Lord who hardens the hearts of man and gives us over to our sinful desires (Exodus 4:21, 7:3, 9:12, 10:1, 10:20, 10:27, 11:10; Deuteronomy 2:30; Joshua 11:20; John 12:40; Isaiah 6:9-10; Jeremiah 5:21). Just read through all of Romans 1 and 9.

There are many doctrines of scripture that people aren’t fond of, yet this is the truth. If we bear the name of “Christian,” do we have any right to stand before the God of all creation and claim any lack of wisdom in how He reigns? Do we dare stand and declare something to be “unfair” or “unjust?” Do we dare mock His sovereignty and sin in such a way as to diminish His utterly wonderful, eternal truth? Do we even dream of contemptuously twisting the Word in order to fit our own narrow thinking of mercy and love?

These hard doctrines do not cause me to weep – it is the rejection of doctrine within the hearts of man that I weep over, especially for those who bear the name of “little Christ.” I grieve over seeing others who claim to be Christian utterly reject hard truths because they don’t like them. It is a painful arrogance that boasts of being wiser than the Almighty; it is blithering foolishness, spitting at the perfection and holiness of His Word.

To what audience do we seek to please – sinful, depraved men who desperately need the truth of the gospel, or the Lord of the gospel? When we remove certain teachings from our proselytizing, we preach no gospel. An oily tongue and rancid, putrid, perversion of the gospel delivers a friendly message that does not save the soul. The gospel divides. Speaking the truth divides.

It is the antithesis to love in saying sin is ok.

Far too often the outcry is for a kinder, softer message. They ask, “What would Jesus Do?” I always reply, “keep in mind, the answer to that question could very well be driving people out of the temple with a whip and flipping tables.”

Part of what makes the love of Christ so glorious, and the gospel so wonderful, is that is saves us from the sins that only promise eternal death. If we diminish the truth of scripture by declaring something in opposition to what is revealed, we are in part, rejecting the faith. There are some incredibly phenomenal, faithful teachers of the Word – yet when we entertain the teaching of wolves, we will be devoured.

The extraordinary thing in this is that scripture shares the full, hard truth without any shame or cowardice. Why do so many feel the need to soften it if the message declares itself to be without blemish?

It is in this that I weep. I fear that the church has become too relevant; she has grown in affection toward this world, rolling happily in the muck and stench, without regard to her wedding day. She has donned the guise of false interpretation, forsaking biblical truth in order to show the world how cool and accepting she is. She has grown complacent in speculation and fruitless arguments; she has grown complacent in developing a love for external morality over the doctrines of grace. She has relished in divisions, and reveled in false doctrine. She has neglected her first love and in so doing, painfully misrepresented God to the world.

I thank the Lord that He has no desire to leave her in putrescence – but desires to reconcile her. I thank the Lord that there are faithful men and women in the church, striving to honor and glorify Him. But today I mourn. I weep for the state of the American church.

Unequally Yoked and Presumptuously Loving It

On the surface, to the everyday reader, this article doesn’t come across as shocking or disappointing. I feel that culturally, it would land on the flip side of this. People of the world would herald this couple as a beacon of hope. Certainly, the ordained Baptist woman would not be as narrow-minded as many of her contemporaries in the faith. Surely, something is going right in the hearts and minds of some Christians if we can see a Baptist woman and Hindu man become married, setting aside their doctrinal and faith related differences for the sake of true love.

Beyond her blatant twisting of scripture in dealing with 2 Cor. 6:14 and John 14:6 and her abhorrent view on baptism, there is another massive problem with how she is responding. She cautions other young women who have sought her at book signings to be careful with the exegesis, keeping in mind the cultural and historical context of the scriptures, as well as the early formation of the church’s theology.

Her basic conjecture stems from a complete lack of understanding in what the texts actually say. Somehow, there is a hidden meaning behind scripture dictating that we ought not be unequally yoked, as well as claiming Christ is the only way to have access to the Father. Yeah…

She then goes on to say, “The essential discernment is: does the faith path deepen the individual’s experience and relationship with God and their fellow humans? For me, that is the ultimate truth of religion.”

Never mind that you rail inconsistencies in everything that comes out of your mouth about the character of God, so long as you have a closer relationship with god and your fellow man. Never mind that you are encouraging young women to ignore the most basic context in the passage, the immediate context, so long as they form a proper view of how current and culturally relative the text is. Never mind that the institute of marriage between a Christian man and woman is to represent the relationship Christ has with the church, so long as you prove yourself to be religiously sensitive.

The damnable thing in respect to the article and this young couple is that Christ is not made much of, but diminished. His Word is cast aside; for not even the writer of the article says anything about the blatant disregard of the scriptures she quotes that stand alone, antithetically to her worldview.

Picture everything housed in a garbage dump. Here you see the Word of God being tossed aside next to the decomposing diaper. In one seemingly simple move, it is likened to that which decays. Yet the Word of God shall still stand long after everything else in that dump breaks down, because His Word is eternal. Simply because this young woman, along with her contemporaries, toss it aside and let the book rot does not evidence that the Word will rot as well; simply because ears are itching and false teachers will arise does not mean that ultimate victory will belong to the spoilers of His Word.

There is an incredible amount of poor theology housed under the guise of culturally sensitive teaching. In the end, it’s damnable. It purveys a source of salvation outside of Christ, minimizes and even mocks the written Word, and teaches others to do so. Be ravenous in what you read, but just be wise in the material you choose. The tongue has power both to end life and give new life.  

Why Church Membership – Part 1

One of the foremost reasons we ought to pursue membership in the church is so that the body of Christ can perform its God-given task. Succinctly, the church is tasked with reflecting the glory of the Trinity through the bond of love (Hebrews 13:1; Romans 12:10; 1 Peter 1:22; John 13:34-35). Though a Christian may experience some of the love of Christ through attending church and having general relationships with the body of Christ – they are meant to be in the body of Christ. What this means is that the local body of Christ is not able to perform its proper function in the life of one refusing membership.

If we refuse the local church, we are refusing to allow anyone to get to know us – the real us. We are refusing to allow anyone to speak wisdom into our lives, to bring us to an abiding faith in Christ, and to confront sin. In looking at Hebrews 10:23-31, this can be an extremely dangerous thing for the person claiming to be in Christ. Why not allow there to be someone who can pull you back, hating even the garments tainted in your rebellion so that you might be saved?

For the man who refuses membership, he does not even allow himself to be exposed enough to be on the receiving end of the principles outlined in Matthew 18:15-20 for church discipline. Furthermore, he reveals that he does not buy into the need for some to be excommunicated by the church because of their sin (1 Cor. 5:12-13), or genuine accountability, or in seeking wisdom (Proverbs 12:15, 17:28, 18:1-2).

Of 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, John Piper excellently observes:

“There are two implications here: One is that there is an ‘in the church’ group and an ‘outside the church’ group. Being in the church is definable. The other implication is that a person can be removed from being ‘in the church.’ Such a formal removal would not be possible if there were no such thing as a clear membership—who is an accountable part of this body, and who is not?”

The goal in church membership isn’t simply to rebuke one another, though this plays a large role within the church if we hold to the scriptures. We can follow the same logic of Piper above in respect to James 5:14 regarding one who is near death and calling upon the elders to minister to him by interceding upon his behalf. Who, if not the local church elders, would be able to fulfill this need? In similar aspects we can ask – who is able to guard us as the under-shepherd; to whom do we submit; with whom do we join in the functioning body of Christ?

Nowhere in scripture will you find the idea of remaining separate from the local church; the only ones who are outside of the local church, scripturally, are unbelievers, and those to be treated as unbelievers through excommunication. This post is by no means an exhaustive list of the biblical reasons why one should become a member of their church. Rather, it keys in on one important aspect in the life of a believer: their own sinfulness and the need for the church to correct them in love. Yet one of the greatest things that stems from confronting sins in love is that the church can then exhort, encourage, and help us to walk in obedience to Christ.

Without being part of a local church, one is left to think more highly of themselves than they ought to; they are left to think they are wise, without understanding the fullness and the depth of their own sin, without the need for repentance, without the need for encouragement, and much more. The church serves as the instrument through which the righteous judgment of Christ can be observed in a believer’s life through the faithful proclamation of the Word. The church connects the Christian to Christ through other Christians; this is specifically why we are called the body of Christ.