The Truth Reformed - John 17:17

 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. - John 17:17

    It has been said of Christians that we not only need to know what we believe but “why” we believe it. For the unbeliever, the trouble is not that we believe in the God of the Bible; they’ve both seen and heard our contentions. The biggest objection I am ever faced with is not about “what I believe,” but “why I believe it.” My stock answer has always been and always will be  - “because it is the truth!” And therein lies the problem. Most unbelievers don’t believe in absolute truth. As relativists, they want to stick to the erroneous idea that “what is true for you isn’t necessarily true for me.” “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” - Judges 21:25.
    The problem for unbelievers is that God’s truth would be fine for them if it allowed them the latitude they like to live their own way, unfettered by God’s rules. That’s why so many people either ignore the Bible altogether or carefully cherry-pick those parts they agree with and shed those parts they find objectionable. They are willing to go to any extent rather than admit that God’s holy words ring truth! “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting . . . .” - Romans 1:28.
    Obviously, for these unbelievers, nothing we can say will convince them of those things which they refuse to believe. They have hardened their hearts and minds to God’s enduring truth. They remain in this state of sin because, “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” - Ephesians 4:18. These are people who, in this state of sinfulness, are without hope. Only the Holy Spirit is able to change their hearts and unless the Spirit does so they will die in their sin.
    Another consideration unbelievers most often fail to perceive is the fact that the truth is insensitive; it doesn’t care whether they like it or not. It is still the truth. For some convoluted reason, many people believe that for the truth to be genuine, it must also be palatable or at the very least, something they can agree with. They all fail to understand that regardless of their refusal to hear the truth, it remains clear and fearsome. “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” - Psalm 86:11.
    As we celebrate Reformation Day, let us acknowledge that God’s truth is what Martin Luther declared to the world on October 31, 1517. Without encumbrances, we can believe in the truth of God’s holy word as revealed to us in the Bible. Sola scriptura, Sola fide, Sola gratia, Solo Christo, and Soli Deo Gloria. By scripture alone, through faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, the truth is Reformed!

Lost & Found: The Face In The Mirror - Luke 5:8

Lost & Found: The Face In The Mirror - Luke 5:8: When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man , O Lord!” - Luke 5:8     A genuine ...

The Face In The Mirror - Luke 5:8

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” - Luke 5:8

    A genuine introspection in relation to our holy God should bring us to our knees in humble, contrite, and repentant sorrow. If it does not then we are not taking a good look at ourselves or we simply have a low view of God. However, it’s not our eyes that are the problem but our hearts. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” - Matthew 15:19.
    There are many people who simply don’t believe this. They tell themselves that they have never contemplated truly evil thoughts, a thought or word of anger from time to time, but evil, true evil? Mark the words of James the Apostle - “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” - James 2:10.
    One need only consider him or her self, relative to a holy God to see ourselves in the harsh light our thoughts, words, and deeds. When the yardstick is the holiness of God, our shame must be as mortifying and as painful as Peter’s. It is only through heartfelt contrition and repentance that we can, like the tax collector say, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” - Matthew 18:13.
    The concept of “holy” as defined by Donald K. McKim is “being spiritually whole, well, pure, or perfect.” Which of us can look in the mirror and claim those attributes for ourselves? There is only one existing entity in the universe that meets those criteria and that entity is the God of the Bible. “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.” - Psalm 47:8. Unless we hold a high view of the holiness of God we cannot begin to comprehend the sinfulness of our lives.
    The title verse is preceded by the account of Jesus telling Peter and the others to go back out in their boats after spending all night fishing and coming up empty. After a moment’s hesitation, Peter relented upon Christ’s command. Soon their nets were so full of fish that they were actually tearing. It was upon seeing this that Peter uttered the title verse. Peter recognized the holiness of the Lord and in so doing saw his own shortcomings as a mere mortal man. What will it take for us to achieve that same understanding? The birth of a child? The sought-after promotion at work? A physical healing? That hard fought for graduate’s degree? The safe return of a service member from deployment or a police officer’s safe  return from his or her shift? A net full of fish?
    God doesn’t skimp on His providence for us. Every good thing we have we received from the benevolence of God Almighty. We have nothing that our great God hasn’t given us. Whether it be talent, aptitude, wisdom, physical prowess or any other gift. It is from God! “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” - James 1:17.
    When we are blessed enough to see this, we are forced to ask that perennial question - “Why me, Lord?” And upon that consideration we should humbly thank God for the grace He has bestowed upon us, despite our sinful natures. Let us all come to God with reverent and contrite hearts. “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” - Isaiah 66:2-3.
    These are the words of a holy God and unless we see Him as holy we cannot see Him at all. Unrepentant, all we see is the muddied reflection of ourselves staring back at us. Unrepentant, we are alone, staring at the innate sinfulness of the face in the mirror.

Lost & Found: Deliverance From Evil - Genesis 3:1

Lost & Found: Deliverance From Evil - Genesis 3:1: Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said...

Deliverance From Evil - Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” - Genesis 3:1

    Now some will contend that the voice of Satan was allegorical. I won’t submit otherwise but only to say that the voice Eve heard, whether allegorically, literally, or in her head, was indeed the voice of Satan, as is the voice we hear that prompts us to sin. Be that as it may, we must understand unequivocally: Genesis 3 is the origin of mankind’s stake in spiritual warfare.
    I am thoroughly convinced that the devil can so control the thoughts, words, and deeds of a man or a woman that their deliverance can only be wrought by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no psychological, psychiatric, or pharmacological remedy. There is only the Spirit of Jesus Christ. A jail sentence is merely a penalty. True conviction can only be given by the Holy Spirit. Therein lies deliverance.
    “And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.” - Mark 5:2-4. I refer to Mark’s account of the Gerasene demoniac because of the Apostle’s straight-forward writing style. He doesn’t mince words.
    The symbolism contained in the Gerasene account cannot be minimized. Here we see a man whose behavior was described as that of an “unclean spirit.” He lived among the tombs (the dead) as do all who have not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. And despite his being bound with shackles and chains (laws and convention), he broke them all and no one could tame his impulses (thoughts, words, and deeds). His “possession,” as it were, was uncontrollable and unbound.
    Consider again our title verse - the cunning of the serpent. The devil and his demonic army is no junior varsity team. They are smarter than we are. They know our weaknesses and how to exploit them. And they are extremely successful doing so. Consider the temptation of Christ in the wilderness - “Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.” - Matthew 4:5. Yes, the devil is that powerful! There are two trains of thought regarding this incident. One, suggests that Satan literally took Christ to the temple, while a second suggests that it occurred only in Christ’s mind. Regardless of the view, what is of the most import is that the devil was capable of such a task. And if Satan was able to move Christ to the temple, where can he move us to?
    There will be many who laugh and suggest I am giving too much credit to an evil spiritual entity, assuming that such an entity even exists. The Bible assures us . . . it does and it is dangerous. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8.
    Satan uses the beautiful, enjoyable, and delicious things in life to entice us to sin. He did so from the beginning and he does so now. After all, if sin was not pleasurable who would entertain the thought of it let alone enter into it? “So when the woman saw that the tree was for food, pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” - Genesis 3:6. We see that sin appears desirable and not only draws us into it but encourages us to draw others into it.
    Before coming to Christ we are as unbridled horses running at full speed toward perdition and destruction. This is the direct result of our fallen or sin nature and it is groomed and fed by none other than Satan himself. The devil doesn’t have to work too hard to move us in his direction. Nothing short of a divine intervention can possibly save us from ourselves. This is the curse of Genesis 3. Again, faith in Christ is the only remedy.
    There is evil in the world. To deny this is not only naive but dangerous. The savagery of fallen man knows no limit. History, whether written by the victor or the vanquished, is the story of man’s evil disposition toward himself or one another. There is only one response to evil and that is the presence of Jesus Christ. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. Christ has defeated death itself; we need never fear.
                       

The Social Justice Gospel Revisited - Revelation 14:6-7

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—  saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” - Revelation 14:6-7

    Is there any mention of a specific message to people of color, the poor, the sick, or any other specific worldly demographic? Of course not! Here’s the point: The moment any minister or anyone for that matter molds, dissects or otherwise presents the gospel in such a way that appeals to anyone but sinners, they have violated both the veracity and the holiness of God’s revealed word!
    The gospel is the word of God presented to all men without respect to their race, ethnicity, or status in life to present them with the “good news” of Christ’s salvific offering. This is the only gospel contained in the Holy Bible and outside of the Bible there is no gospel offered. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” - Romans 1:16.
    There is never a point in time that Jesus offered anything but salvation to those who would believe in Him. He never offers worldly riches, status, privilege, justice, social equality, gender equality, choice of sexual orientation, or even basic health . . . to anyone at any time or anywhere during this earthly life. The gospel of Jesus Christ, as given to us in the Bible, is offered to anyone who believes that Jesus is God’s only begotten Son and His promise of salvation. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” - John 14:6. This is all that the Bible has promised! How dare they raise their fists as signs of worldly power against the word of God!
    There is no “word weaver magic,” language deconstruction, or “speech-act theory gobbledygook” affecting semantics or the intended meaning of Holy Scripture. To suggest otherwise is to suggest that the Bible is in error and quite fallible! We have had over 2000 years of the greatest commentators (Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, et al.) in Christian history, led by the Holy Spirit, exegeting what the meaning of Holy Scripture is. The social justice gospel is nothing more than a wet mongrel that has crawled into consideration in the last century! And might I remind those who believe this patent heresy: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7. I wouldn’t want to be attached to the hand that sowed that seed. Remember well the words of Paul to the Galatians - “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” - Galatians 1:8.
    So what of people who have been disenfranchised by the status quo? What about people who are denied their basic rights and necessities? Do they have no recourse in this world? As Christians, we are to treat everyone as we would be treated. BUT Christ’s message of love drives even deeper than just “doing unto others.” There is a command that goes to the heart of the “Golden Rule.”
    “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.” - 1 John 4:20-21. And it doesn’t stop there. “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” - 1 John 3:17.
    Yes, as Christians we most certainly do have a responsibility to right injustice when we encounter it. But our responsibility is to “mankind,” not one or two particular demographics. No specific “identity group” has a monopoly on the word of God. And when such groups boldly declare that the Gospel holds a special revelation for them and for them alone, they are lying. These are lies devised by the devil himself and disseminated by his minions.
    The Christian responsibility to brotherhood extends beyond race, ethnicity, color or denomination; it extends to mankind. Remember the Lord’s Prayer - “OUR Father . . . .” That applies to all mankind, believers and unbelievers, without prejudice until the Day of Judgment when Jesus Christ returns. “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” - Matthew 3:12.
    May we all understand the love of God for His elect, chosen from before the foundation of the world from all the nations of man.

The Sweet Aroma God Requires - Hosea 6:6

For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
 - Hosea 6:6

    How many of us have placed our ritual practices front and forward as evidence of our piety? Of our faith? Think about it for a moment. Have our pharisaical robes supplanted the contents of our hearts? God couldn’t care less for our theatrics. He doesn’t care about profession; He cares about possession.  Do we possess the love for one another that God demands of us? “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” - Colossians 3:12-14.
    Our religious trappings mean nothing compared to what we hold in our hearts. As Christians, we can fast, say Novenas, rosaries, the stations of the cross. We can sing in the choir,  tithe until we are financially broken, or we can fast ourselves to death! None of that matters. There are so many traditions of men that dilute what God wants from each of us, and what God wants and expects from us is . . . love. “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” - Romans 13:8.
    We seem to avoid the obvious lessons of Jesus Christ when we seek to appease God with our traditions and rituals. All the time believing we are pleasing Him with the perfume of our offerings. But are we guilty of the sin of proclaiming our belief and faith in God yet failing to fulfill His law? “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”- Galatians 5:14. Do we? Do we?
    Do we absolutely love our neighbors as we love ourselves? Can any of us stand before a mirror and proclaim that we absolutely love our neighbors as we love ourselves? But more important: can we stand before God and make that claim?
    We boldly state that we understand God’s will for us. But God demands that we know Him. If we know Him, we know His will for us. “O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” - John 17:25-26.
    The knowledge of God must produce in us the love of Him and our neighbors. “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’”- Matthew 22:36-40.
    God doesn’t require sacrifice, burnt offerings, or any other contrivance to show our knowledge or love for Him. He requires we put on love for both Him and our neighbors. Love is the sweet aroma God requires.