Bad Company - 1 Corinthians 8:9

 But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.  - 1 Corinthians 8:9

    This post is directed not to the weak but those who believe they are strong in the faith. As a Christian blogger I watch the news for stories that deserve Christian scrutiny. I also observe the popular culture to see how many and how awful the things are that we replace God with. And I am specifically referring to Christians here, not unbelievers. Those who have no belief in God never surprise me with the levels of debauchery they sink to. It is the behavior of those who claim the mantle of “Christian” that astounds me.
    In an earlier post this year I wrote that we shouldn’t over-emphasize the small differences between our Christian brothers and sisters. If scripture doesn’t specifically deal with an issue on moral grounds then the chances are we need only use the litmus test of edification to determine whether or not the thought, word, or action is appropriate for a Christian.  “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.”  - 2 Corinthians 13:5.
    How often is it that we partake in an activity (i.e speech, movies, television, books, magazines, music, socializing, etc.) that we should take a step back and ask ourselves - “How will what I am about to say or do influence another Christian?” Will it weaken the brother’s or sister’s resolve because they look to me as an example? Perhaps even more important: how will it influence an unbeliever? Will it further distance them from God? Will it further encourage them to mock God? “How long, O you sons of men, will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood?” - Psalm 4:2.
    As Christians we simply must adhere to the words of Isaiah - “Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her, be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.” - Isaiah 52:11. If our words and deeds don’t edify then neither do they glorify God Almighty. Let no man ever scoff at God because of our words or behavior and may we always present ourselves as holy before men and our Lord.

True Faith Remains - 1 Peter 1:6-9

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. - 1 Peter 1:6-9

    Our lives witness many trials, Some we barely escape, others force us to hold onto the moorings of our persistent and trustworthy true faith in God to get through them. These are the trials I address in this post.
    The death of a loved one, a parent, a spouse, a child, a dear friend. These are experiences that test even the strongest faith. When the dead are buried, true faith remains!
    National tragedies like 911, Columbine, or Newtown test the strength of our true faith. But think of faith as “knowledge.” We know the sun rises every morning. Some days there are clouds but we still know that the sun is rising on the other side of that obscurity. Even on the cloudiest of days, true faith remains!
     “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” - 1 John 5:4-5. The victory that overcomes the world is true faith; faith in God. We face a myriad of worldly obstacles on a daily basis. Some are minor irritations while others may mean life or death for us or our loved ones. Such is the nature of the modern world, a world steeped in wickedness and depravity. What greater weapon do we have against such utter destruction and perdition than our true faith in God?
    “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” - 1 Timothy 6:12. We are tested by the Great Deceiver, Satan, on a daily basis. Each day he throws his worst at us trying desperately to bring us down into smoke and ruin. To deny his presence in our lives is to place ourselves in denial and denial leads to corruption. We must fight the wiles and the methods of the devil if we are to stand strong in true faith.  “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”.
 - Ephesians 6:14-16.
    No matter what we face in our lives; no matter what fears or realities we are forced to deal with, true faith will bring us through it. We may not come through unscathed . . . but we will come through to the glory of God which most assuredly awaits us on the other side. “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” - Psalm 62:8.  In the face of our worst trials we must always remember - true faith remains!

Inseparable - John 3:16-18

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” - John 3:16-18

    When we at first read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12), we hear Christ teaching us how we are to behave as believers. His teachings are recognized and respected by most rational human beings around the world. When Christ teaches us the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22:36-40, we again hear Him declare what our purpose and duties are as believers. In neither instance does He ever mention HIS purpose for coming into the world. Both of the above mentioned instances describe Christ’s teaching. In a word, “love.” Love is the core of Jesus Christ’s teachings to the world: love of God and love for our neighbors. But His message differed from His purpose!
    Christ came into the world so that by his death we could have eternal salvation. He came to die for us. His death was the propitiation demanded by a just God for the sins of the world.  No mere mortal could ever have accomplished what Christ did by His death on the cross. As our title verse states, “He did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world.” God’s purpose was not to have his Son come down to convict and condemn mankind. The conviction of men was reserved for the Holy Spirit. The condemnation, as our verse tells us, was already in place. It has been in place since Adam and Eve ventured forth from the Garden of Eden at the command of God. No, God didn’t send His Son to condemn us; He sent Him to save us.
    So on one hand Christ is teaching us how we are to behave towards God and our fellow men. On the other hand He has a more dire mission to accomplish: his own death as a substitutionary payment for the sins of the world.  So, yes -  Christ’s teachings were important enough for Him to spend the last three years of His life drumming them into us. If His teaching were unimportant then he could have just as easily come into the world and immediately died for us. But it was not so. Christ spend endless hours teaching both His disciples and the crowds that came to hear Him speak. He was, as I implied earlier, an accomplished teacher of men. Yet, His teachings are not he reason He came to us; our redemption through belief and faith in Him is!
    So to understand - Christ’s teachings and commands in Matthew 5:3-12, Matthew 22:36-40, and His final command, Matthew 28:19-24, were all vitally important to us as believers. Though His teachings represent the sinless obedience of His life and set forth the example we are to follow it is His death which atones for our sins and gives us the assurance of our salvation. In His life we find the example of sinless obedience to God. In His death we are blessed by grace with our redemption and salvation. The one we must strive for; the other is a gift from God. Both are entwined in what we call belief, and belief leads to faith in God. Belief and faith: different yet inseparable. Should we ever attempt to separate the two than we are no better off than the demons. “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble!” - James 2:19.
    Faith implies belief in and assent to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May our actions always be seen in such a light.

Humbled By Holiness - Luke 5:8

                   
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” - Luke 5:8

    What awe must Peter have felt for it to force his guilt to the surface of his conscience. His awe was inspired by the presence of the Lord. As Peter stood before Christ and felt the raw power of God in his midst his immediate response was to humbly admit that he was no more than a sinner, unworthy of Christ’s divine presence. Peter’s humility stood in stark contrast to his life  . . . before Christ. As a sinner Peter was constantly exposed to the pitfalls of a fallen world. As a sinner Peter constantly fell to the excesses of his own human pride, to the temptations and vexes of the world. But once in the presence of Jesus his worldly pride was ripped away from him as the angst of his guilt was fueled by the work of the Holy Spirit in his life. He stood, convicted of his sin before his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
     “The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.’ ” - Matthew 8:8. Humility often manifests itself in our unwillingness to seek the presence of God for fear that our sins are too great. Guilt makes us shrink away from holiness because we have finally recognized its power! Repentance abides in a man who humbles himself before the Lord. Why else would we take such a submissive position before God were we not confessing our sins? And if we are confessing our sins are we not also asking for forgiveness? “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin, For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” - Psalm 51:2-3.
    Let us be clear: humility has never existed side-by-side with pride. It cannot; it will not. We must lay our proud hearts aside. But unlike Peter we should bid our Lord to come nearer to us rather than leave us. As in the words of C.H. Spurgeon - “Come near to me, Lord, since I am a man and, being a man, am weak—and nothing can make me strong but Your Presence. I am a man so weak that if You depart from me, I faint, I fall, I pine, I die! Come near to me, then, O Lord, that by Your strength I may be encouraged and be fitted for service. If You depart from me, I can render You no service whatever. Can the dead praise You? Can those with no life in them give You glory? Come near me, then, my God, though I am so feeble! And as a tender parent feeds his child, and the shepherd carries his lambs, so come near to me.”* 
    May we always prostrate ourselves before the Lord God in humility and leave the pride of the world behind us.

*“Peter’s Prayer”, C.H. Spurgeon, Sermon # 3407, delivered 6/10/1869

Baby Steps – John 3:3

 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3
    There’s a new baby in the house. And while we are racing about trying to cover all the bases, the child is just beginning to see, hear, feel, and taste the world around him. Every move; every sense; every experience is new to the child. And so it is with us when we are “born again.” To understand the concept of being born again we must first consider what is evidenced in the natural first birth of man.
    From the moment of his birth he begins to grow, to advance, to mature. He learns to go from milk to meat. He learns to go from crawling to walking. He learns to go from infantile utterances to articulate speech. And as his life begins in earnest he grows into an adult with an adult’s perceptions, understanding, abilities, and strengths. This is the linear process of human life.
    But what of our “spiritual life?” This is the subject of Christ’s conversation with Nicodemus. When we are born again we begin to see with a Christ-centered perception. Our hearing becomes Christ-centered. Our speech becomes Christ-centered. And our actions become Christ-centered. To suggest otherwise would be tantamount to saying that a child has advanced to adulthood yet hasn’t progressed from mother’s milk to solid foods, or learned to walk or speak properly, or heard the sounds of the world around him. And just as the child could not mature and develop without these advances in both his communicative skills and physical manners neither can a Christian mature who does not find himself Christ-centered!
    Being born again involves more than simply claiming the experience, otherwise merely responding to an altar-call or signing a salvation card would be enough for redemption. No, Jesus Christ requires more! He requires that we be like Him. “ . . . but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:15-16. To be holy is to be Christ-centered.
    Just as that new born is learning to walk we too are learning to walk . . . like Christ! We are learning to think and talk and react and perceive things like Christ would. All these things we learn anew. Our old ways must be put to death and our new ways must take seed, flower, and blossom forth. "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” - John 12:24. Our old selves must pass away for our new birth to take effect. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17.
    May we all recognize that we are new creatures in Jesus Christ and let that knowledge be reflected in our walk with Him.

The New and Improved Gospel? - Acts 13:45

But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. - Acts 13:45

    But why? Why would the Jews be full of envy, contradiction, blasphemy, and opposition to what Paul was saying? Perhaps the previous verse alone will provide us with a reason - “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.” - Acts 13:44. Almost the whole city! It is clear that even in the early days of the church people hungered for the Word. Despite antagonism and persecution, people still wanted to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. Is it possible then that the Word of Faith movement and the consequent Health, Wealth, and Prosperity ministries are filled with the same kind of envy today?
    It is clear that Paul taught a no-nonsense gospel which accurately preached the difficulty in following Christ. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - 2 Corinthians 12:10. No where and at no time did Paul ever preach that following Christ would be as easy as responding to an altar call, signing a prayer card, or repeating a salvation prayer! Neither did Paul ever preach that as Christians we could have every expectation of worldly health or wealth if we merely “spoke” it into action. But almost the whole city came out to hear the word of God! So the wolves in sheep’s clothing say, “There simply has to be a way to capitalize on such a potential for our ‘personal aggrandizement and success.’ But then there is that pesky gospel which speaks of infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions, and distresses. That could certainly get in the way of our grand plans. Ahaa! We’ll simply change the message. We’ll ‘improve’ it to suit our needs. People will flock to accept our ‘proprietary brand’ of the Good Word. There won’t be any more needs or human frailties when they respond to our altar call. We’ll convince them that they can have it all.”
    And what happens when the health and prosperity is not forthcoming? These false teachers lead their followers to bitter disappointment when the promises given are not fulfilled. And it is usually blamed upon a lack of faith in the believer or at it’s worst - God! Men and women like Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Crefalo Dolar, Benny Hinn, and Rod Parsley cannot (and DO NOT) muster the providence of God Almighty and bestow it upon the deceived. These modern charlatans exhibit all the same satanic shortcomings that the Jews did in Paul’s day: envy, contradiction, blasphemy, and opposition to the true word of God, all because they recognized the people’s desire to know Jesus Christ! They recognize it and have chosen to market it! Is it possible that there is something they have missed, a point in holy scripture that warns against such bold and arrogant articulation of a false gospel?
    “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” Hebrews 10:29.
    May we always keep our hearts and minds focused on the truly Good News of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, despite the satanic murmurings of false teachers.

Molehills and Mountains - Ephesians 4:14

. . . 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 . . . - Ephesians 4:14

    Thankfully I can say that it is not often that I see questions posted in this community which tend to be on the chaffing side of the Christian walk. These questions do not  outright challenge the foundations of our faith yet they are cleverly manipulated inquiries designed to sow discord. The answers to most of such questions are readily available in nearly any basic book on Christian theology.
    The test, as it were, seems to be either to draw us into a fruitless conversation about basic truths we all understand as Christians or to undermine and create doubts as to what we believe. For the life of me I cannot see how presenting such loaded questions accomplishes anything more than splitting hairs about the less important doctrines we either hold or reject. What kind of music is appropriate for worship? Which form of baptism is the correct form?  How often must we celebrate the Lord’s Supper? Is it sinful for a Christian to drink alcohol? These and a myriad of other inconsequential questions rise on occasion, and I thank the Lord it is only on occasion!
    Some might disagree with me that such questions have no place in the edification of fellow believers; however, when it comes to simple doctrinal disputes and differences,  molehills can quickly become mountains if we are not careful.
    “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.” - Philippians 3:15-16. As believers we must concentrate on what Christ has provided for us through the grace of God: salvation! Edifying one another is not up for dispute; it is our role as Christians to encourage one another, not sow discord. “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” - Romans 14:19.
    And what of those who choose to distract us with their clever machinations?
    “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.” - 1 Timothy 6:3-5.
    May we always be more motivated by Christian love to move toward edification rather than conflict.