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God Bless America?
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.-Psalm 33:12
We all want God to bless America. This is the land that we love and we want to see it prosper. But I fear her days of prosperity are behind her. As we draw near these last days, I am reminded that people have mentioned that America does not appear to have a significant role. When I first heard this twenty years ago, I thought maybe they were misinterpreting something. Now as I look at the moral and fiscal decline of our nation I can understand why we will have no significant role in the world’s future evolution.
A few days ago a friend of mine remarked about how the fiscal decline of our nation is paralleling its moral and spiritual decline. How true it is. There are many places in the Bible where God states that obedience brings blessings and disobedience brings a curse. In fact, one of my favorite passages in the Bible is Exodus 32 where God promises to bless Israel so that all the nations of the world would be provoked to jealousy. Through this, He would win the nations back to Himself. However, because Israel refused to comply, God also told them in the Book of Deuteronomy of the calamities that would come upon them. Deuteronomy 28:15-69, in part reads:
“But it shall come about, if you do not [o]obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the [p]country.
17 “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
18 “Cursed shall be the [q]offspring of your [r]body and the [s]produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
19 “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke, in all [t]you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me.
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43The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail.
I believe there are a couple of reasons why this happens. First, because we remove God from our society, we also remove godly principles that make for a productive, operating nation. When we lose sight of God, we lose sight of fiscal responsibility and personal accountability. We are borrowing millions of dollars a day to keep our nation operational and sending millions of dollars in relief to other nations, yet our schools are in shambles, our roadway infrastructure is in need of an overhaul, our military is nearly depleted, and we have millions living at or below the poverty line. Our prisons are overcrowded. We are spending millions in earmarked projects studying things that have no value, essentially building thousands of bridges to nowhere. Why? We are doing this for the second reason: because we have, in effect, evicted God from this nation, He has evicted reasoned thinking from this nation.
Wisdom is gone. As Romans 1 tells us that because we ‘refused to honor God or be thankful to Him, He has allowed our thinking to become empty and our hearts became darkened (). We profess to have wisdom but in reality it is foolishness.’ If we look at our society we have put many Band-Aids on serious wounds thinking we are solving the problem. Like Israel and King Saul, we have elected officials based on their outward appearance but not on their character. We gave people fishes instead of teaching them to fish (entitlement programs). We pay our teachers little and tie their hands on discipline and wonder why our education system is lacking. We treat the people whom we call upon to serve and protect our nation worse than we treat convicted felons. Through entertainment media, we indoctrinate people against sin with videos of violence and programs of promiscuity and vulgarity. We curtail parents’ ability to discipline and teachers’ ability to discipline and wonder why they fight the police. And the list goes on.
Though Psalm 33:12 was original written to the Jews, it is applicable to us. If a nation honors the Lord and keeps His commands, it will be blessed. Our own history has shown that to be true. But once God came under attack with Engel v Vitale (which ended prayer in school), Abington School District v Schlemp and Murray v Curlett (which ended mandatory Bible reading), and later misinterpretations of “separation of church and state” policy, this nation has begun to go downhill fiscally and morally with the Vietnam War; entitlement programs; the free love movement; strike down of DOMA and the rise and “protection” of the sexual issues like homosexuality, pansexuality, and transgender identification; Obamacare; and the like.
God bless America? How about America bless God?
GOD’S GRACE
It is through the writings of the Apostle Paul that we best come to understand the doctrine of Grace. Through Paul’s teachings, we understand that Grace comes by faith, and that the faith that brings Grace comes from God and not from ourselves. We do not work for Grace. If we did then it is not Grace but it is something we earned and therefore not a gift. Paul would open each of his letters to the various churches and to his friends, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon with a blessing of grace and peace. How did Paul come to understand the doctrine of grace? He experienced it.
Saul, Paul’s Jewish name, was a man of two worlds. He was a Jew whose father was likely a Roman because Paul claimed Roman citizenship many times in his writings. He was not only a Jew but a member of the ruling body known as the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the keepers and teachers of the Jewish Law. As a Pharisee, Paul was zealous for the Jewish faith. He was zealous to the point that he was present at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8:1). He was a persecutor of the church leading men and women to prison and death (Acts 8:3, 22:4). He not only persecuted the church but likely blasphemed Jesus as a heretic and as well as those who followed him (1Timothy 1:13). Though he was such a man, God spared him and used him in a great and powerful way.
God, through His infinite love and great mercy, decided to extend his generosity to Saul by visiting him one day on his was to Damascus. When going to Damascus to arrest the Christians there to bring them back to Jerusalem to be tried and imprisoned (or worse), he was intercepted by Jesus who appeared in a light brighter than the sun. He spoke with a loud voice that knocked Paul off his beast (Acts 9). Through this powerful voice, He asked, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Saul responded, “Who are you, Lord?” The voice came back, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” From that day on, Paul was on fire for Jesus and for spreading the Gospel. Why? Because he realized that he had been spared the wrath of God. He realized that he was fighting against the very God he was trying to defend. He realized that his actions warranted death but God had mercy on him. As a result, he could write, “ that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge…(Ephesians 3:17b-19)”
God’s Grace to us is powered by His love for us. He loved us enough to create us and to desire fellowship with us (Genesis 1:27-28). He loved us enough to tabernacle with us when we were lost in the wilderness of sin (Exodus 40:34, 1 Kings 8:10-13). He loved us enough to tabernacle in us through His Spirit because of the blood of His Son (John 14:15-18, Acts 2:1-4). He loves us enough to allow us to one day tabernacle with Him in the Eternal City (Revelation 21:3). It was God’s Grace that elevated a murderous persecutor and blasphemer like Paul to the role of Apostle, planter of numerous churches, and writer of nearly one half of the New Testament. It was also God’s Grace that elevated a lowly rebel like me to the heights of a saint, a priest, and a king (Revelation 5:10).
Have you experienced God’s grace in your life? Paul, Moses, Abraham, all can tell you that it doesn’t matter what type of background you have. It doesn’t matter what sins or wrongs you have committed. It doesn’t matter how bad you have been or you think you have been. He offers you mercy instead of wrath. He offers you adoption instead of separation. He offers you love. He offers you faith. By trusting in the work of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary, you, too, can experience the same grace Paul experienced—the same grace every believer has experienced (and continue to experience). God offers grace that leads to eternal life rather than justice that leads to death. Which will you choose?
The Bible – God’s Living Word
This past Sunday, I asked my students in “Sunday School” if they have heard the analogy that the Bible is like an onion. A few of them raised their hands while one of them blurted out, “Like it has different layers.”
“Exactly,” I said. I went on to explain how each time you read the Word it can say different things to you. Later that day, I was thinking of an example I could give them of this. My mind went back to a time when the Lord took me deeper into His Word. During one of my Quiet Times, the Lord took me to John 4. God used this passage to teach me several things. I thought it was a good illustration of how one can dig deep (and even deeper) into God’s Word.
John 4 recounts Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at a well. In this passage Jesus sends the Disciples into town to buy food while He spent some time alone with the woman (a social taboo in many ways). A look at this passage will show three different levels of digging into God’s Word.
Level one, which I call “the surface,” is what one can glean simply from reading the passage. On the surface, the passage is simply a conversion story. It recounts how Jesus meets a woman and through conversation leads her into the realization that He was the promised Messiah she’d been looking for. He does this by overcoming her objections and revealing Himself to her by recounting for her his life story—something only God can do.
Level two goes a little deeper. A level two reading reveals this telling to be more than just a conversion story but a lesson on how Christians are to treat non-believers if they intend to win them to Christ. First, Jesus went to where she was. If the saints are to win the lost, they have to go where the lost are. They can’t just sit in a holy huddle waiting for the lost to come to them. That just is not going to happen. Second, Jesus knew of her past and he let her know that he knew of her past, but He did not demean her for it. Jesus understood that sinners will act like sinners. It stuns me when saints are shocked when sinners act like they do. It’s their nature. It’s all they know. How ironic that saints expect sinners to act like saints while saints think it ok to act like sinners.
A level three study of the text reveals to us the heart of God. Jesus, being God, had to go through Samaria the Bible tells us. The Jews normally would go out of their way to avoid this area but Jesus made a beeline through it to meet a woman at a well during the hottest part of the day. This woman would go to that well during this time because no one else was there. At that time, there would be no leering eyes and muttered talk. This woman was looked down on even by the Samaritans. She was, in effect, the lowest of women among the lowest of society among the lowest of people groups, at least according to Jewish thinking. But God went directly to her and met her personally. Likewise, God calls us to go to the unlovely and the unlovable to demonstrate His love and concern. Who around us is considered the unlovely? Who is considered the unlovable? Who would we consider to be not worth our time or not worthy of heaven? What person or people group has God placed on our heart? Jesus went to this woman and this woman, the least of her people, became His first evangelist, introducing her people to Him while the Disciples stood idly by. God said He would take the foolishness of this world to confound the wise and the weakness to confound the strong. He did that with this woman. Like Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, the Disciples, Paul—just to name a few—He used this woman to lead an entire city to the Lord. What Billy Graham or Mother Teresa is in our midst waiting to know of the love of God and of the salvation available through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ?
These are by far not the only applications of this passage. I’m certain that as I study it again, God will lead me to other truths. He may have led you to other trusts while you were reading this post. If so, please share so we can all grow from your insights.
Why does the reading of the Word of God produce so many applications? It does so because it is God’s Word. God is living and dynamic and so is anything He creates, including His Word, which, according to Hebrews 4:12, “is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart, NASB.”
My Commentary on First Timothy 1:12-20
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Paul closed out his previous instruction by saying that the Gospel was entrusted to him [among others]. He then proceeds to recount his own shameful past and how he was a recipient of the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first thing he does is give thanks to Jesus who gave him strength and appointed him to the gospel ministry. Why did Jesus save and call Paul. In Paul’s own words: He considered me faithful. Jesus knew that Paul was zealous for God just on the wrong side of the Cross. He knew that once Paul was saved, that same zeal would be used to promote the Gospel was than persecute it. Was He not right? Paul started numerous churches and is credited with writing nearly half of the New Testament. Talk about faithful.
1 Timothy 1:18-20
In this passage, Paul encouraged Timothy to be faithful. He said the purpose he gave this instructions was in keeping with the prophecies that were made about Timothy. The Bible does not say when these prophecies were made but they apparently spoke about how God would use Timothy to strengthen the believers and refute the false teachers.
His instruction to Timothy was to engage in battle and not just sit on the sidelines. Those who teach false doctrine needs to be rebuked. Those who attempt to divide the church need to be confronted. The Word of God needs to go forth. The command of Jesus was to make disciples and that means teaching the Word to the hearers giving them a foundation upon which to stand against false teaching.
Timothy’s motivation was to teach from faith and a good conscience. Paul said there were some who rejected their faith in the oracles and providence of God and the desire good conscience and, as a result, their faith (walk with God) was destroyed. He then goes on to list two such people, Hymenaeus and Alexander, who were known for their blasphemies. Paul said he had delivered them to Satan, or rather he has asked God to show them the error of their ways.
My Commentary on First Timothy 1
The epistles to Timothy are among my favorite books in the Bible. In fact, I do not believe enough teaching is done on them in churches perhaps due to the fact that most see them as being written to a pastor who how to conduct his ministry. However, there is a lot of doctrine in these letters. Not to mention, these instructions can be useful to all of us—after all we have a ministry whether paid or not, big or small. We are all charged with the responsibility of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So since I do not hear a lot of teaching on these epistles, I thought I’d do my own.
Timothy 1:1-2
Verses 1 and 2 give us both the author, Paul, and the addressee of the letter, Timothy. Paul, again reaffirming his apostleship and stating he is an apostle “by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope.” Paul called Timothy his true son in the faith. Apparently, Timothy was led to Christ by Paul and has been a faithful disciple of Paul ever since.
To his son, Paul, opened his letter with a benediction (or blessing). He pronounced “grace, mercy, and peace” to him which only comes from God our Father and Jesus Christ, our Lord. In this benediction, he reminded Timothy that his real Father was God (who would supply all he needed) and that Jesus Christ was Lord.
1 Timothy 1:3-11
Apparently while Paul was in Ephesus there were those who were preaching other doctrine, doctrine that was contrary to the doctrine Paul had taught them. As a result, when he was called away, he urged Timothy to remain and confront them and give instruction to the congregants not to receive such teaching. These false doctrines included “fables” (untrue accounts) and “endless genealogies” (disputes on lineages of people and possibly of Christ himself). This doctrines lead to disputes that are profitless. They are designed to tear down the body and not build it up. What builds up the body—trusting in God and living in that trust—just as Abraham did.
True doctrine is to unify not divide. Division comes when people attempt to put their own spin on what God has said. But when we listen to the Spirit to understand the true meaning of the word, we will be unified. Just as it is written in Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:4-6, ESV).”
So what is the purpose of the law and doctrine: love. Many don’t believe that but love is the essence of the Christian faith. Mainly because we do no demonstrate it but Jesus said that the demonstration of our love for one another will be the way we show that we are His disciples. We are to manifest love that comes from a “pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” When we abide in Christ, His love is manifested in and through us. Unfortunately, many church members do not demonstrate love but selfishness, self-righteousness, and jealousy. Those who manifest these behaviors are like those Paul talks about who have strayed from the faith and turned aside to things that do not edify the Body or glory Christ.
Paul said they want to be teachers of the law but they don’t understand what they teach or affirm. When I think about the churches in America, I am reminded of this statement. Many of the largest churches in America are led by people who do not teach God’s Word of repentance and salvation but a social gospel (I’m Ok, you’re OK) or a prosperity gospel (where God’s favor equals material blessings). These take scriptures out of context and do not hold the Law of God in any esteem. Instead they esteem the goodness of man and the value of worthless, earthly things. However, the Law of God was not done away with just because Christ came.
Christ came to fulfill the Law but those who are apart from Christ are still under the Law. Only those who have accepted Christ as Savior have been forgiven and are not under the Law (John 3:16-17, Romans 3:19, Galatians 4:4-5). And those who are under the Law, whether they recognize the Law or not, will be judged by the Law (Romans 2:12).
So what does Paul say about the Law and doctrine? It is good if it is properly applied. The Law is our schoolmaster. It sets the boundaries of how far we can go. To those who keep the Law, the Law means nothing. Think of a person who never drives. Does a speed limit sign mean anything to him or her? The Law is only a bully to those who refuse to keep it—the rebel, the sinner, whom Paul name: “those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral and homosexuals, for kidnappers, liars, perjurers and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching”.
LESSONS FROM THE BUTTERFLY
This is from my book, “For Such a Time as This: The Darkness Cometh” available from Friesen Press. It is also available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.
One of the lessons we studied in my Christian Education class was on spiritual transformation. The lesson spoke abo
ut how we as Christians need to be transformed from the people we are into the image of Christ. In the lesson, the author used the analogy of a butterfly. He spoke about how the caterpillar would crawl up the tree and create the cocoon. When he emerged, he was a beautiful butterfly. “The idea,” my class teacher, Jerry, eloquently put it,”is that the caterpillar had the DNA of a butterfly in him all along, but he had to go through that transformation or morphing stage in order to become all he was created to be.”
I remember, over 10 years ago, I used the same analogy to illustrate a different truth. In the mid 90’s, I was doing a study on Heaven. I had just finished listening to John McArthur doing a study on heaven on his Grace to You radio program. Next, Woodrow Kroll of Back to the Bible started a study on Heaven. I’d also purchased John McArthur’s book, the Glory of Heaven, and later, Joni Eareckson Tada’s, Heaven: Your Real Home. From that came the sermon I preached at the sites where I ministered. Since this was pre-seminary, it didn’t have a title, but it went something like this:
Colossians 3:1-2 say, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Of all the verses I read on Heaven, those two verses are the ones that stayed with me. A more accurate translation would be “Since you were raised with Christ…” This is not our home. We are, as they used to say, pilgrims passing through a barren land. Hebrews 11:13-16 say, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them,[c] embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
{One of the places I ministered to was a rehabilitation center. I would ask, “How many of you when you came here brought your furniture, your dishes, and all your clothes? When no one would raise their hand, I would ask why not? It’s because when you came here, none of you intended to stay. Therefore, you didn’t bring the things that would make you comfortable here. Likewise, as Christians we are not to be comfortable in this world. Just as many of you are looking forward to going home, we are to be concentrating on and looking forward to going to our heavenly home.}
2 Peter 3:10:13 tells us “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.[c] 11Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” Since we are not of this world and but in it, we should be more concerned about heaven than earth. We are ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20) of Heaven. We speak for Christ. We should live like Christ. We should influence this world and not let this world influence us.
The time is coming when we will be released to go home. Either the Lord will call or the Death Angel, but we will go home. Therefore, let us set our minds on that place. What will that place be like? It will be a place where we will have new bodies, new minds, no more pain, no more suffering, no more tears, no more sorrows, no more good-byes, no more death, for the old things have passed away. Just as Jesus said the old heaven and earth passed away and there was found no place for them, so will all the bad things of this world.
With our new bodies, we will be able to move at the speed of light. We will be able to walk the solid objects. We will be able to defy gravity. I know this may all sound like science fiction, but Jesus was able to do all these things with His glorified body. Read Luke 24. We will be able to fall from great heights and not get hurt. We will be able to swim in the ocean and not drown. Why? We can do this because there is no more death.
Right now, we are made of dust; therefore, we are subject to the laws of physics. But soon, that will change. Take the caterpillar, for example. As a caterpillar, it is a creature of the dust. But when it crawls into a cocoon, it essentially dies and is reborn a butterfly. Because it is now a creature of the heavens, it can defy the laws of gravity. Likewise, we are creatures of the dust. We are of the offspring of Adam. But when we die in Christ, we are transformed into creatures of Heaven. 2 Cor. 5:17 says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation…” We are transformed inwardly and outwardly. Inward transformation is called sanctification. The outward transformation we are looking forward to is called glorification.
1 Corinthians 15:20-22: “20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” Right now we in the image of the man of dust (Adam), but soon we will bear the image of the Man of Heaven (1 John 3:2). Now we are subject to the laws of the earth, but soon the laws of the earth will be subject to us.
The Great Falling Away: The Apostasy of the Church
One of the lessons we can learn from the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation is that the church has cycles (or a cycle). Much like any organization, there is growth, a plateau, then a decline. After the decline there can be a rebound, another incline, or death. The church will not die. History has taught us that and Jesus has promised it. Yet, the church does have a cycle that it seems to follow.
In the beginning, when the people first come to Christ, they are on fire for Him. They worship in spirit and truth. They serve. They give generously. Then the fire starts to cool. Worldly cares seep in. People don’t read their Bibles like they once did. People don’t pray like they once did. People don’t attend church like they once did. Preachers don’t preach like they used to. Preachers and teachers don’t prepare like they used to. As Jesus said, they will have left their first love. Eventually, in the life of the believer, as in the life of the church itself, worship goes from relationship to ritual.
It is no longer about Christ. It becomes more about the process than the Person. People just go through the motions. The come; they read; they pray; they give; they leave but no real change has taken place. They had no real encounter with the Savior. They received no fuel to carry them throughout the week. Like a charcoal removed from the fire, they all soon grow cold. Now, they no longer have a faith, they have a religion.
I believe every church started out on fire for God. I believe this is true of the Catholics, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Baptist. But over time, their love for the Lord has started to grow cold. Their devotion, our devotion, is moving from relationship to ritual. Once we move in this direction, it won’t be long before the church is compromising with the world—embracing ecumenism in the name of peace.
In several of Paul’s letters, he speaks of the falling away or the apostasy of the church. In 1 Timothy he wrote that people would ‘depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons’. In 2 Timothy he wrote that the time is coming when people would no longer tolerate sound doctrine but will acquire for themselves teachers that teach things that appease the flesh. In 2 Thessalonians he wrote that the falling away would precede the Rapture of the Church.
What is the ‘falling away’ that Paul refers to? As one preacher once said, I don’t believe that it is some mass exodus from the church and that Jesus has to come back or there would be no Church for Him to come back for. Instead, I believe the falling away is encompassed in the words of Paul.
First, there would be a drop in church attendance. It is no secret that church attendance is on the decline. Many churches have more empty pews now than they had in the past. This is likely due to several factors. Parents stopped teaching their children the fear of the Lord. When these children grew up, church was not on their radar. Another reason is that people are too busy with the cares of the world. Many people work on Sunday because businesses are open 7 days a week. People also use Sunday as a day of rest and Saturday (the Biblical day of rest) as pleasure day. Society frowns on church and religion. It is mocked in the media. It is satire on television. It is outlawed in schools and public buildings. Of course, the biggest reason is sin. Sin draws people from God not to Him. And since sin is so prevalent and even welcomed in today’s society, church attendance suffers.
Second, people will depart from the faith. It is not that they stopped attending church. It’s just that they attend churches that don’t preach sin and repentance, hellfire and brimstone. Instead, these churches preach a social gospel—an I’m-OK-you’re-OK gospel. In this gospel, people don’t sin, they err. Yet, even without Christ, they can still live their best life yet. Regardless as to whether they are a Christian or not, everyday can still be a Friday. Others preach a prosperity gospel—a name-it-and-claim-it, call-it-and-haul-it gospel. Preachers in this gospel say all you have to do is lay your hands on it and claim it in the name of Jesus. God told Joshua that anyplace your feet trod I will give to you. Therefore, if you want a piece of land, walk its distance and claim God’s promise in the name of Jesus. If you want God’s best for your life, all you have to do is plant this faith seed and God will send you a harvest. As I said in my first book, God cannot be bribed!
Finally, mainstream religions will depart from the fundamentals of the faith. Pastors (and deacons) are committing all sorts of immoral acts and the churches (congregations) are not holding them accountable. Instead, they are standing by their pastor or priest. There are Christian denominations that actually question the infallibility (without error) of God’s Word. There are Christian faiths that actually question the deity of Christ—who actually do not believe that Christ was God. Now there are Christian denominations that are ordaining homosexual ministers—people who are living in open defiance to God’s command. First of all, God called homosexuality a sin, not me. (Lev. 20:13, Romans 1:26-27) Second, God, through Paul, told Christians to avoid people who ‘have a form of godliness but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5). Third, Paul said that all homosexuals will have their part in the Lake of Fire (1 Cor. 6:9). Not only are they ordaining homosexuals, some are even performing civil unions for them!
In these last days, the apostasy is only going to grow. This is why it will be easier for the antichrist to come into power. What “Christians” are left behind will be so ignorant of the Word that they won’t recognize him until it is too late. On the other hand, the Bible encourages us to stay read up and prayed up. We are to work out our own soul salvation. We are to make our call and election sure. In other words, we are to stay on the straight and narrow and not to stray from God Word. We are to read it, learn it, and hide it in our hearts. We are to cling to it and stick with it no matter what the world or the church does. God’s Word is the only thing that will last. Jesus is not coming back for a congregation. He is coming back for a Bride who has made herself ready and who has remained faithful to Him.
The Bible–Book of Truth
“If you are not willing to live for Jesus on Earth, don’t expect to live with Jesus in Heaven.” I say this both to those who call themselves Christians and don’t live like it as well as to those who deny Christ and the Bible. Frankly, I don’t understand how people can deny that the Bible is a book of truth instead of a book of fantasy (as I have heard some people say). The problem with Bible haters is that it is not the Bible that they take issue with but its message. The arguments they use to dispute the Bible are only excuses used to cover the fact that they just don’t believe in its message or in the God it reveals.
Why is the Bible considered a book of fantasy? There are those who say it is because it speaks of an invisible God. Revelation 20 tells us that the world won’t follow a visible God either. Therefore, that argument is moot. The disputers also say there are contradictions in the Bible, yet they can’t point out any. What they fail to realize is that the Bible was written over thousands of years by dozens of people. Even if the Bible spoke with “one voice” and there were none of these perceived contradictions, these same disputers would argue that the Bible seems too cohesive, too much of a solo voice for it to have been written by so many people over such a long period of time. So, there no pleasing them either way. These are different books (and letters) written by different people with different voices and different perspectives but the same unified message. In this hub, I hope to show why the Bible is to be a trusted authority.
First, the Bible is a book of wisdom. Psalms 1 tells the reader not to hang with ungodly people because their end is destruction and you don’t want to be caught up in their fate. This sentiment is echoed in the Proverbs. Proverbs 1:15 says, “My son, do not walk in the way with them (sinners), Keep your foot from their path…” Proverbs 6:9-11 describes the plight of the lazy—poverty. “How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep— 11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.” Ruth and Esther are both examples of women who placed their faith in God and were rewarded for it. Hannah and Job are examples of what happens when you take your problems to the Lord and leave them there. David and Peter are examples of how men of God can fall, repent, and be restored by God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Second, the Bible is a book of prophecy. There is no other book of any religion that contains prophecy in such detail. God is able to say what is going to happen because He knows the end from the beginning. God revealed to Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Zachariah, and John the Revelator how it is all going to work out in the end. As we see the words prophesied over two millennia before come to pass, how much more should we believe and receive the Word of God.
Isaiah 66:8 asks, “Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once?” This speaks about the rebirth of the nation of Israel, May 6, 1948. Jesus said the generation that saw this happen would not pass away before they see the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds with power and great glory (Matthew 24:34). In Ezekiel 37, God proclaims how He will cause all His people who are scattered among the nations to return to their land. Ezekiel 38 describes the nations that will side against Israel in the last days. Those nations are Rosh [Russia], Meshech [Moscow], Tubal [Tobolsk], Persia [Iran], Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer [Germany?], and Togarmah [Turkey?]. We can see from the news today that Russia is partnering with Iran to give them nuclear capability with which they will attack Israel. Look at the events that have happened in Libya, Egypt, and Syria. This is not a coincidence.
The Bible has also predicted that in these last days there would be wars and threats of wars, ethnic groups will rise against ethnic groups, there would be earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places. Last year central Arkansas recorded over 700 earthquakes. This week a 5.6 registered earthquake rocked the east coast. Famines and diseases are also becoming commonplace. These signs were recorded two thousand years ago and are coming to pass in our lifetimes. Revelation 11:7-9 describes the martyr of the two witnesses and that the whole world would see their bodies in the street. Fifty years ago this would not have been possible, but now with CNN, MSNBC, and FoxNews, along with worldwide affiliates, people can watch breaking news instantly on their televisions, computers, iPads, iPods, and Smartphones.
The Bible is the Word of God. In it, God gives wisdom. God uses the example of the Old Testament Saints to show us both how to live and how not to live. Only in the Bible does God give you His game plan up front. He tells you how it is all going to go down. Its your choice whether you want to believe Him or not. Paul says the Bible is difficult to understand for those who don’t believe because it takes God’s Spirit to reveal its truths to you. Fortunately, you can ask God for wisdom and He will give it to you because it is His desire for you to know and understand Him and His will for your life.
Too Many Hypocrites
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “I don’t go to church because there are just too many hypocrites down there.” I’ve always said that that was a copout. People don’t keep people from going to other places they want go to. After all, what is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is a person who is a pretender. It is derived from the Greek term that means an actor, actually a person behind a mask. Jesus used the term to describe the Pharisees because they used a mask of piety to hide their sinfulness.
The Pharisees hid behind religion. Jesus called them hypocrites because they knew the Law but did not follow it. Ron Carpenter, pastor of Redemption World Outreach Center, once said about religious people, “Religious people are full of rules but don’t follow any of the rules they’re full of.” We’ve all heard the motto of the hypocrite: “Do as I say and not as I do.”
This is why hypocrites should not come between us and our God. My question is this: what does that hypocrite have to do with our relationship with the Lord? We already know they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing, so because the hypocrite isn’t doing what he or she should be doing, what has that to do with us? When we worship God, it should be between us and God. Our focus should be on Him and not on anyone else. Our worship of God has nothing to do with anyone else. We can use another person’s spiritual progress to encourage our own, but we should not allow another’s failure to discourage us.
Second, shouldn’t we know that the devil put hypocrites in the church for just that reason? In Matthew 13: 24-30, Jesus told us that the devil would sow tares among the wheat. What are tares other than pretenders—hypocrites? Tares pretend to be wheat when they are not. Hypocrites pretend to be Christians when they are not. Why does he sow tares among the wheat? He does so to dissuade and divide the believers and lead them into heresy. So when people refuse to go to church because of hypocrites, they are playing into the devil’s hands and just doing what he wants them to do, which is really what they want to do anyway—not go—and they use hypocrites as an excuse. The question could be asked, “Who is really the hypocrite?”
This is why I say it is a copout for people to use hypocrites as a reason for them to not go to church.
God Is Ultimately Responsible for All Suffering
Sometime ago I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church, Dallas. The sermon was titled “God is Ultimately Responsible for All Suffering.” It was part of a sermon series he is preaching, called “Politically Incorrect.” The sermon title got me to thinking. As I thought about the title and listened to the sermon, I realized that, as Baptists, we essentially say the same thing only in a different way.
Like some of you, initially, when I read the sermon title, I took it to mean that God brought about or caused all suffering in the world. But that was not the case. Pastor Jeffress’ sermon essentially said that if God is all powerful and is the Sovereign of His universe, then He is ultimately responsible for everything that happens in it. God doesn’t cause the suffering but He does allow it to happen. As Baptist, we certainly say that God is All-powerful and All-knowing. Therefore, if He knows what’s going to happen and is able to stop it but don’t He is ultimately responsible for the consequences it brings.
Job is the prime example. God was aware of what Satan was going to do and even put limitations on how far he could go. Therefore, He was ultimately responsible for the tragedies in Job’s life. Even Job did not discount this. For he said:
God has delivered me to the ungodly,
And turned me over to the hands of the wicked. (Job 16:11)
He also said,
What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? (Job 2:10)
As I begin to think over what I was listening to, it came to me that it was God who sent calamity upon the Israelites. God testified that it was He who raised up the Babylonians who would later lead Judah into captivity (see Ezek. 23:22-24). It was God who sent the flood over the world. Therefore, God is ultimately responsible for all suffering whether He caused it or allowed it.
Think about this: if you allowed your child to touch a hot stove because you wanted to teach them that stoves are hot, you will be ultimately responsible for any suffering that child goes through as a result of their touching the hot stove. Likewise, God is ultimately responsible for any suffering we go through because He allowed it.
Here’s the good news. Since God is ultimately responsible for all suffering, He is also responsible for how much suffering we have to endure. Perhaps you’ve heard the old saying, “God will never put more on us than we are able to bear.” Although it is not in the Bible, there is some truth to it. God may put more on us than we think we are able to bear, but I don’t believe He allows situations to crush us. We may not know the full council of God, we do know that He allows us to undergo some situations to draw us closer to Him. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11-28-.30).”
He also allows suffering because it is through suffering that we learn obedience (Heb. 5:8). I think He also allows suffering to remind us that we live in a fallen world that is governed by a fallen angel and co-inhabited by fallen people. In short, we live in a sin-filled world. Someone once said, we don’t learn anything when times are good. It is in difficult times that we grow and are shaken from our comfort zones.
Therefore, take courage. In the world, we shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer for Jesus has overcome the world. He that is with you is greater than he who is with them. And finally, if God be for you, no one can be against you. For like Paul, I am convinced that there is nothing, no trial, tribulation, or calamity that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
Cyber-Discipleship 