House Cleaning

I was studying 2 Timothy 3 as I was preparing a Bible lesson on leadership. Paul was writing to Timothy to encourage, admonish, and strengthen him as a leader in the church. Let's look at what Paul said in verses 1-5:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

As I reflected on this passage I think Paul is telling us who are leaders, in our families, in the church, in business, and in government that this will be us. Its not a reference to how awful the rest of the world will become, but how we will become if we're not careful. And unfortunately, I think we haven't been very careful. The humanistic, hedonistic, and pragmatic world we live in has helped us to become just what Paul said in this passage.

And it all starts with that first passage, men. Are we lovers of ourselves? As I thought about it, it became so obvious that we, me included, have fallen into that hole. As RC Sproul, Jr. once said, we seek our own personal peace and affluence, just like the rest of the world. In fact, the only real difference between us and the unbeliever is that we believe we also have a ticket to heaven. Otherwise, we like them, deep down, just want personal peace and affluence in our lives. I'll expand on that in a future blog, but for now I want you to think about it ... is it true, are you a self-lover? Do you love yourself more than you love the Lord? Honestly? What do our actions and attitudes tell us? I'll leave you to meditate on that. I know it was a hard thing for me to look at.

As Paul goes on in that passage, each of the other evils he describes flows from that first one ... self-love. The world encourages it, Satan teaches it, and we live it. Let's begin to look at this passage anew and really examine our own hearts and lives. It goes back to the very first commandment, doesn't it? You shall have no other gods before the Lord. Time to do a little house cleaning, time for me to move out and let the Lord move in.

Friends

I'm sitting in San Diego writing this blog entry. I had to travel for business but it has given me some time to reflect. Soon I'll be heading to New Mexico to take on some new business, church and family opportunities. The great part of it all is that I get to take on the challenges God lays before me with my family. He has blessed us in so many ways. A wonderful business opportunity, a godly Christian church with committed and mature elders. They are dedicated to help men to take leadership roles in their families and for those fathers and mothers to bring up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Oh yeah, I won't miss those Minnesota winters either!)

However, as I look forward, I also remember from where I came and all those the Lord sent into my life for me to teach and for me to learn from. You all know who you are! And I'll miss each of you. Its hard to say goodbye to such special friends. I just remember the words to the chorus of Michael W. Smith's song Friends:

And friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them. And a friend will not say never 'cause the welcome will not end. Though it's hard to let you go, in the Father's hands we know that a lifetime's not too long, to live as friends.

I'll hang onto that thought. Thanks for being my special friends in the Lord.

Pleasant Lies

Jesus warns us in Matthew 7:15-20 about false teachers or false examples which abound in churches today:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them"

Your first impression of the false teacher (be it a preacher, teacher, or other so-called Christian) is that all is right in them. They are nice and very pleasant. They seem to be a good Christian. They say the right things, their teaching and beliefs seem in general quite right and they use many words that should be spoken by a true Christian teacher. They talk about God and Jesus, and they emphasize the love of God.

So what’s wrong with that? How can we tell there is a problem? Jesus said: "By their fruit you will recognize them. " We need to see all that they are saying or living or all that they are NOT saying or living. We must closely examine the fruit of their life.

Remember the small gate, the narrow path? It’s not an easy road. Listen to what the false teacher or example doesn’t say. He has nothing which is offensive to the lost man. He pleases all. He is in sheep’s clothing, so attractive and pleasing. He has a nice and comforting message. He pleases everybody and everybody speaks well of him. He is never persecuted for his teaching. He is never criticized severely. It just doesn’t match up with the teaching of the apostles. Everyone didn’t like them. In fact most of them were killed for their teaching. Different than our churches today. And the result is different.

The “offensive teaching” that is missing is this:

The false teacher rarely tells you anything about holiness or purity, obedience to God's Law. About righteousness and living as Jesus did, including being willing to suffer any consequence to do so. Telling you that persecution is not optional. About God being just and that being why Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice to atone for your sins. There is no emphasis on our utter sinfulness and our inability to save ourselves. Jesus saves us wholly through His work in our lives, not through anything we can do to earn it. We are saved by grace. Once saved though, he expects us to walk the narrow path.

The false teacher spends all his time teaching you about God’s love and not much else. He wants you to feel good and be comfortable. There is no challenge to holy living. There is no understanding of the cost of Christianity. No doctrine of sin, of hell, of Satan.

Failing to teach the whole truth, and in fact concealing the truth is just as damning as speaking heresies. His teaching is so pleasing to the undiscerning ear that it leads men to hell because it has never confronted them with the holiness, obedience, righteousness and justice that God demands. This is true of a false Christian’s life. No wonder God spits them out. (Revelation 3:16).

He doesn’t teach real repentance either. He leaves a very wide gate leading to salvation and a very broad road leading to heaven. You need not feel much of your own sinfulness. You just ‘decide for Christ’ and join the crowd on the way to heaven.

What is real repentance? Real repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the punishment of God and that without Jesus you are hell-bound. You see the sin in you and want it out. You are willing to renounce anything in the world to get rid of it. No matter what the cost. Your friends may think you crazy and abandon you, but you care not. You may have to suffer financially, but you care not.

The Bible is full of warnings about false teaching. It is a major topic in the Bible. Look through the Gospels, the Epistles and so forth. [1 Timothy 1; 2 Peter 2; 2 John 2:11]

The false teacher does not emphasize the necessity of entering the small gate and walking the narrow road. He doesn’t tell you the necessity of living in obedience to Jesus. He allows you to accept “easy” salvation and walk an “easy” road. He discourages self-examination.

Why is the church in America so weak today? Because it is full of false teachers, false preachers, false Christians and false examples. Are you one? Examine yourself.

Thoughts on the 1st Commandment as the School Year Starts

The First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me." To gain an insight as to why we are to have no other gods before Him, let us look at what Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 6:1-3:

"These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you."

Here we see a reason for the giving of the Commandments. It was so that we would learn to fear (that is, respect, revere and hold in awe) the Lord and in so doing learn to be obedient to Him. To lack fear and respect for God is the essence of foolishness.

Further, He indicated that they not only needed to do this but that it was vital that this understanding be passed from generation to generation. Don't bring forth a generation of fools. I'm afraid in many ways we have done just that in our country because of a failure to teach a proper fear of the Lord.

Let's look a little further in Deuteronomy 6:4-9:

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Verses 4 and 5 of this passage are often referred to as the Shema. They were recited in the morning and evening prayers of the people of Israel each day. And as we have seen, Jesus quoted verse 5 in Matthew 22:37 when He said: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

Verse 5 is further developed in Deuteronomy 10:12-13:

"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD'S commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?"

What can we see from this? The consequences of there being only one true God are obvious:

First, we understand that one God means one Law, one truth, one set of commands or principles by which we are to live our lives.

In our culture, it is said, there are no absolutes. No one set of standards. To say so is a direct violation of this First Commandment. To say that there are many truths is to say there are many gods. These other gods might be the gods of the many false religions, they may be Satan, they may be the state, and they may be man himself. The point is, they are not the God of the Bible. The one true God.

Second, we see that because God himself is unchanging, His law, these principles are unchanging as well.

To try to change the law or principles of God is the essence of compromise and rationalization. God is unchanging and His word is unchanging. Consider what He has said in Deuteronomy 4:2:

"Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you."

(We might think of that as the anti-rationalization verse.) His word is not to be changed, but rather, it is to be simply kept and obeyed. You don't fall into the trap of compromise and rationalization, do you?

Third, we see that because God's law and principles are unchanging, they require our total, unchanging, and unqualified obedience.

Since man is totally the creature of God, and since there is not a fiber of our being which is not the handiwork of God and therefore subject to the law of God, there is not an area of man's life and being which can be held in reservation from God and His law.

Fourth, in reading Deuteronomy 6:7-9, we see that education in the law is basic to and inseparable from obedience to the law. We are to pass it on. The law requires education in terms of the law. Anything other than a Biblically grounded schooling is thus an act of apostasy (that is, an abandonment, a renunciation, a defection) for a believer: it involves having another god and bowing down before him to learn from him in direct violation of the First Commandment!

We cannot begin to understand the meaning of education unless we realize that all education is religious. Education in an Islamic society is different from education in a Christian society which is different from education in a humanistic society. Unfortunately, we live in a humanistic society.

Humanistic education fosters in students the basic premises of Genesis 3:5 and the fall of man. It asks man to be his own god, determining for himself what constitutes good and evil. Modern education declares that there are no absolute truth or final answers. Modern educators believe that man is the ultimate arbiter of truth. The Bible, God's holy Word is excluded from the schools. Modern education violates the First Commandment. Let us not violate the very First Commandment in how we educate our precious children.

Teach The Good Stuff - It's Called Sound Doctrine

I was reading Titus chapter 2 this evening and looking at it from a big picture perspective. Often when coming to this chapter we reflect on what Paul is telling Titus to teach to the various groups; older men and women, and younger men and women. But look at how the chapter begins and ends.

The first verse in this chapter says "But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:" Paul is telling Titus (and us) that what we speak and teach must find its basis in sound doctrine, something that is surely missing in the church today. He then goes on and gives us examples of teaching that is based on sound doctrine when he tells us what to teach to the various groups of men and women. Take a minute to read Titus 2.

Isn't it interesting how little of this is taught in the typical church today? The churches see their primary task as evangelizing, not edifying and building up the saints. Churches worry about whether they are "seeker friendly" or whether they are using the best marketing methodologies to bring new people into the church. Yet as we read this passage, the teaching to each group is supposed to edify and build up the families present such that the church of God is a vibrant and radiant example of what God calls his people to be like. Evangelism is part of dominion taking and is expected of each and every family in the church. The church is to build the families up that they might be more effective in the process. How many churches are focused on building men, young men in particular, up to be leaders, leaders in their families and eventually leaders within the church and community? If they would train up leaders, dominion takers, then both families and the church would be strengthened. We would begin to accomplish that which God put us here for, rather than just biding our time.

This passage in Titus 2 ends with Paul saying "These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." See it? All this teaching, according to sound doctrine, the teaching about how to live godly lives, our leaders must speak, exhort and rebuke with all authority. This teaching isn't to be a "good idea" or a "suggestion." No, it is to be taught with all authority ... thus saith the Lord! We are to teach it and to model it.

The last sentence of that passage is intriguing. "Let no man despise thee." What does that mean? It could be rephrased "Let no man exalt his own thinking above yours." In other words, if you teach and live carefully according to sound doctrine, then even though others despise your teaching, they can never quite exalt their own thinking above what you teach because your words are God's words. As long as you teach "thus saith the Lord," teaching his sound doctrine, others' attempts to dismiss your teaching will fail in their hearts and they will have to be ashamed of themselves.

We are to teach and live according to sound doctrine, that, as Paul said here, "the word of God be not blasphemed." God's word gives us all that we need for life and godliness. Let's choose this day to faithfully teach it to our families and to live it, that we might be that light, that city on the hill that others will look to and see our Lord. Remember, you might be the only Jesus some will ever see. Live according to sound doctrine glorifying God in all you do.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Jesus made that wonderful statement on the greatest of all the commandments when he said: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39)

Reflecting on that the other day it came to me how we measure our love by what we do for our neighbor. Are we praying for them, visiting them when they are sick, bringing them meals, or helping them in times of need. These and many other ways we can tangibly see how we express love for our neighbor. This is a most excellent thing ... unless we forget the first and greatest commandment in favor of the second.

Remember that greatest commandment? To love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Do we do this? What does it mean to love God? Jesus reminded us in many places, but one in particular was John 14:15 where he told us that if we love him we will OBEY him. Unfortunately our culture teaches us to do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want, and that perhaps we can pull it off without any consequences at all. Certainly we don't need to obey God, after all he wants us to be happy and free to do as we please, right?

That line of thinking follows from a pagan thought process that all of life is about ME. My happiness, my peace, my prosperity. It is a lie from Satan and from our corrupted nature. The only true freedom and happiness that we can have in this life comes first from being saved by God and then from living a life that he desires for us.

Face it, left to our own brilliance, things rarely work out well in the short run and never in the long run. Think you can make it on your own without God? Good luck. At some point man's wisdom, man's solutions, man's science and medical genius all fall short. Without God there is no hope.

God designed the universe and all that is in it. He knows what is best in life for you. He designed a way of life that rises above the foolishness of man. Wouldn't you like to enjoy that rather than head for another failure?

You see God told us at creation that we were to be fruitful and multiply, to govern over this earth as his representative over all of creation that he might be glorified. As such it is foolishness to try and do it any way other than his way. He gives us all of the Bible and it's moral law to show us how to govern over creation and how to govern our own lives.

We can't know how to love him or how to love our neighbor if we don't know what the Bible commands. He shows us and tells us what real love is. Not the watered down selfish version the world sells us, but the real thing. If we don't do it his way, if we aren't obedient to the whole teaching of the Bible, then we are slapping God in the face.

We might have our arm around our neighbor loving him, but what if our other hand is slapping God in the face? Do we really love God, or do we choose to ignore his clear teaching. He gives us laws, commands, principles and precepts by which we can know what to do in each and every situation of life. Let's begin to learn them today and to live it, showing God that we love him because we obey him!

Harvard Sinks Deeper

Harvard University announced on August 15, 2005 that it was going to allocate millions of dollars to prove that there is no God. They certainly have had many evolutionary professors and much that has come out of that school that is anti-God, but this is perhaps their biggest statement. The Answers in Genesis website has an excellent article discussing this.

Isn't it amazing how far we have fallen. Harvard, founded in 1634, was a Christian school. The founders of the school adopted a seal and motto that glorified God and set forth the idea that the Bible was the basic document of truth in the world. That it was God's Word and as such foundational for all of life. They believed that a university student need a biblical education in whatever their lifelong calling.

Today we see how far we have fallen. It is nearly impossible to find a college or university that teaches a literal six days of creation as set forth in the book of Genesis. What level of indoctrination does the average child receive who attends government public schools and then goes on to college for more? What can we do to protect our children from this? Is it important enough to take action on?

Satan wants us to trust in the wisdom of man and not in the Word of God. What is the basis for your life? The shifting sands of man's opinions, thoughts and theories, or the rock solid unchanging Word of God? Think hard about that before you answer. Are all your decisions and thoughts based on what the Word of God says or do we find ourselves buying in to tradition, what everyone else does, or what we think works? Do you ever find yourself reading a passage in the Bible and then saying "BUT." But that won't work in our culture, but we are free in Christ, not under the law, we can live as we see fit.

So what can we do for our children? Can we see what the Bible says we are to teach them? Can we see how the Bible says we are to teach them? Once we understand, can we be obedient to God and just do it! Or will we find the excuses we always use and send them off to another anti-God indoctrination? God will hold us accountable for our choices. It's his Word and he expects us to obey him. Choose this day who you will follow, as for me and my household, we will follow the Lord.

Are You Serious?

Do we take seriously all of God's Word, or do we pick and choose what we want, what we like, or what is convenient for us? Do we dismiss the teaching of the Old Testament as ... old? Let's look at what Jesus said about the Old Testament and whether we must be obedient to God's commands or not.

In the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in part at Matthew 5:17, Jesus said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." What key word do you see here? Abolish. Jesus said twice in this verse "Hey everyone, I have not come to abolish the Old Testament. In no way is it going away." (The Law and the Prophets is what we call today the Old Testament.)

So twice He says He didn't come to abolish the Old Testament law and commands, but instead to fulfill them. What does fulfill mean? Many have debated this endlessly and so often it is twisted to mean some variation of diminished or dismissed the Old Testament law in favor of New Testament grace. Stop and think for a minute. Jesus says twice He did not come to abolish it and we twist the meaning of the word "fulfill" to mean that He did come to abolish it. Would Jesus contradict himself like that? Certainly not!

In fact, He makes it clear to us in verse 19 of the same passage when He says: "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Is there any part of that that sounds like Jesus diminished, dismissed or abolished the Old Testament law and commands? Of course not.

So why do we see so little teaching and preaching on the Old Testament moral laws and commands? Why do so few Christians fail to even know the most basic statement of the law, the Ten Commandments, and just exactly what they mean? Obviously, it's because we have a very shallow understanding of the Bible and neither our own study nor the teaching of our leaders have given us that depth of understanding we need. The failure ultimately lays within ourselves, though. We are responsible before God to know what his Word says and to be obedient to it.

The doctrine of justification teaches us that we truly are saved by grace through faith. The doctrine of sanctification teaches us that, once saved, God expects us to be obedient to Him, growing and maturing and learning to be like Him in our character, that we might accomplish those good works he has prepared in advance for us to do. (See Ephesians 2:8-10)

We can only submit all of our life to Him when we truly understand how He calls us to live. When we only have a vague understanding of what God calls us to we tend to make it whatever we want it to be, fitting it into our lives on our terms. Guess what? That's just not going to work. God is still sovereign and in charge of the universe. Not us. If we aren't willing to obey Him, what kind of faith do we really have? A deep abiding faith, or a shallow lukewarm version?

Let us submit ourselves fully to Him. Let us dedicate ourselves to learning the whole counsel of God, Old and New Testament, learning His commands, laws, precepts and principles, that we will know HOW to live obediently that we might glorify Him. God gives us all we need through His Word, all we need to know how to live truly holy and righteous lives.

Let's take Him seriously. Show Him you love Him and His law, just like David did in Psalm 119, and live obediently, in EVERY area of your life!

Under the Law?

There are some who say that we are 'not under the law', and I agree with them wholeheartedly. But I must always ask this question: What does it mean to 'not be under the law?' Does it mean that we are "free" from the law and don't need to obey it anymore? Is it because we are saved by faith through grace and no longer under the law? Sometimes we say things and we really don't think about what they mean.

If we are "free" from being under the law, then let's look at the most basic statement of the law, the Ten Commandments. If I'm completely "free" from being under them then it must mean:

First Commandment: It's okay to have other gods before God.
Second Commandment: It's okay to worship idols.
Third Commandment: It's okay to take the name of the Lord in vain.
Fourth Commandment: It's okay to ignore the Sabbath.
Fifth Commandment: It's no longer necessary to honor your parents.
Sixth Commandment: Killing's not that big of a deal.
Seventh Commandment: Want your neighbor's wife, feel free to take her.
Eighth Commandment: Want something you can't afford? Just take it.
Ninth Commandment: A little lie isn't that big of a deal.
Tenth Commandment: Coveting your neighbor's stuff? Don't sweat it.

That's not it? That's not what it means to be "free" from being under the law? It's all the other law's in the Bible that we don't have to worry about, the Ten Commandments are still okay? The other laws in Bible are all case laws and examples that derive from the Ten Commandments. Either they apply or they don't. So what is the answer?

We're free to determine right from wrong ourselves? God doesn't think so. He still has this notion that he's in charge. So what is the answer?

We only have to obey what's in the New Testament? God changed his mind about all that other stuff? Jesus said that he didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. So what is the answer?

In Romans 3-5 Paul tells us that we are indeed free from being under the law such that we are saved by the awesome work of Christ in our lives. We are saved by faith through grace and through NO work of our own. We can't do anything to merit salvation or God's approval. To that extent we are dead to the penalty of the law.

In Romans 6-7 Paul goes on to tell us the rest of the story. He tells us that we are alive to the law as it is our sanctification. It tells us how God expects us to live. Once we are saved we are no longer slaves to sin and are to, in love for Jesus, choose to conform to the law. He says it is our righteousness. This ties beautifully to what James said, "faith without deeds is dead faith." How can our saving faith be real if after we are saved we don't love the Lord enough to obey him?

Jesus said at John 14:15, if you love me you will obey me. In other words, talk is cheap. If we really are saved, let's show it by being zealous to learn about all of God's laws, commands, principles and precepts that we might know how to be obedient to him in every area of our lives and so glorify him ... our Great Lord and Savior!

Missing the Point

Problems, problems, always problems. There seems to be a never ending steam of problems confronting the church today. One at the forefront nowadays seems to be same sex marriage. Denominations, churches, and individual Christians argue and fight over what is "right." As Christians we should know better. There is only one truth and only one right and we know the Person to ask to find it out.

Next time you have to deal with this or anyone of hundreds of other issues and controversies, stop and think! That's right, we Christians have learned over the years how NOT to stop and think. Let me challenge you to quit looking at symptoms of problems and examine the real issue next time.

What is the issue? Simply this, the sovereignty of God and the sufficiency of Scripture! Think about it, it all boils down to that. Whatever the current controversy, have we stopped to think about those two keys?

The sovereignty of God simply refers to the fact that God is the Creator of all things, the Lord of all the universe. If he is Lord of your life then you have chosen to acknowledge that he truly is in charge and must be obeyed in every area of life. This being the case, whatever the issue you face, you will seek his counsel and direction, and once found you will submit yourself to it. If instead you choose to place the opinions of man (yourself, others, scientists, scholars, friends, or even ministers) above the counsel of God, then you are a fool and will engage in foolish discussion with other fools! Seek the wisdom of God.

And where can we find the wisdom of God? In his holy Word, of course, which brings us to the issue of the sufficiency of Scripture. The sufficiency of Scripture refers to the clear teaching of the Bible in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3 and elsewhere that the Bible is the inspired word of God and has God's answers that we need for every decision of life.

Think about it, we argue and debate over so many different issues and totally ignore the clear teaching of the Bible. We see so called "Bible scholars and ministers" trying to bend the clear teaching of the Bible to say whatever they want it to say. Paul warned us in 2 Timothy 4:3 that many in the church would gather around them teachers and preachers to say whatever they wanted to hear, but not the truth. That describes our times.

Take the issue of same sex marriage. If you agree that God is sovereign (and he is whether you agree or not!), and if you agree with the sufficiency of Scripture, then there isn't much of an issue at all. Paul says in Romans 1:25 "they exchanged the truth of God for a lie" and goes on to discuss how both men and women engaged in homosexual activities which are a perversion to the Lord. Then in Romans 1:32 he sums it up saying "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

What terrible judgment is upon the church in America for blessing what is evil. What blasphemy for us to elevate our opinions above God's clear teaching. Blasphemy as we violate the First Commandment and place ourselves over God. Let the church repent of its evil ways and turn its hearts back to God, submitting to his Sovereignty and Lordship as we come back to his wholly sufficient Scripture.

Muting God

Do we mute God? We'd never do that on purpose, but do we sometimes do it with the choices we make in life? Well, to understand this better let's look at the word immutable. God is immutable meaning he never changes.

Hebrews 13:8 says: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

God never changes his mind. He gives no private revelation contradicting his written word, the Bible. He won't direct you to do something that is clearly against what is said in the Bible. Yet often those making decisions wait for a private revelation from God, a particular circumstance, or a feeling that tells them what to do. They don't consider that Satan can open doors and orchestrate circumstances. We must check every decision out against what the Bible says in its clear commands, principles, precepts and patterns.

Here is another way that we mute God. We do it by adopting a problem solving method called "biblical" pragmatism. We find what the Bible has to say with regard to an issue and then we decide what will work in our culture. We decide whether or not what the Bible says is practical in our world. As if God gave us "temporary" truth. As if God were to write the Bible again he would have changed his mind for our generation. We are fools when we go down that road, be it in our words, in our thoughts, or in our actions.

God is immutable. We must apply his never changing wisdom to our every changing lives.

Another "Dewey" Thought for Christians

My previous post about Dewey's influence on public school being a place of training up children primarily to excel at social life is borne out in a June 2005 Barna survey report. According to that report, and I quote, "Christians say they do best at relationships, worst in Bible knowledge." Remember Dewey's quote? "I believe, therefore, that the true centre of correlation of the school subjects is not science, nor literature, nor history, nor geography, but the child's own social activities."

How can we expect Christian children to learn about who God is, what He has done, and what He calls us to, when 85% of Christians send their children out into Dewey's educational system to learn how to be social creatures as defined by society's ethics rather than God's? Is it any wonder that the church has reached the point where Christians have learned how to best get along with the unbelievers, how to fit into their system of beliefs, are essentially illiterate when it comes to Bible knowledge and deficient of Christian character?

Am I too harsh? Why are Christian divorce rates and family breakups equal or higher than that of the unbelievers? God clearly says that when we are disobedient to his commands and teachings we will be judged and placed under a curse. Looks to me like many Christian families are under that curse.

We must submit to God's clear teaching on the topic of raising up a godly generation by faithfully training them up according to God's methodology and his teaching, NOT man's.

John Dewey on Education

Some think of John Dewey as one of the fathers of our educational system in America. He certainly was one of the more influential men in defining what our public school system would be. He seemed most concerned that children first and foremost become socialized in a manner to be defined by society and its needs. I recently read an article that he wrote in 1897 in the School Journal. Here are some quotes from that article:

"The teacher is not in the school to impose certain ideas or to form certain habits in the child, but is there as a member of the community to select the influences which shall affect the child ...."

"I believe, therefore, that the true centre of correlation of the school subjects is not science, nor literature, nor history, nor geography, but the child's own social activities."

"I believe once more that history is of educative value in so far as it presents phases of social life and growth. It must be controlled by reference to social life."

"I believe that education is a regulation of the process of coming to share in the social consciousness ...."

[Speaking of education] "It is socialistic because it recognizes that this right character is not to be formed by merely individual precept, example, or exhortation, but rather by the influence of a certain form of institutional or community life upon the individual, and that the social organism through the school, as its organ, may determine ethical results."

"I believe that every teacher should realize the dignity of his calling; that he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of proper social order and the securing of the right social growth."

Interesting isn't it? The highest goal is the socialization of the children in a way to be defined by society. Very humanistic, wouldn't you say? What does the Bible say about education of children? Is it to be done by the parents under God? Is it to teach who God is, what God has done, and what God calls us to? Is it to call our children to salvation of their souls and to train them up with biblical character? Is it for God's purposes or for man's?

I find it interesting that when parents are obedient to God and train up their children, there is one question everyone always asks them. "But how will your children learn to socialize?" I wonder where they learned that question from. I asked some young parents what they hoped for their children as they were growing up. The parents said "that our children will be properly socialized and learn how to get along with everyone else."

You know, there is no command in the Bible for Christians that says "You shall socialize your children." What do people really mean when they ask that question about socialization anyway? That their children can get along with others who are different from them? One might respond "so putting your 12 year old in a room full of 12 year olds 7 hours a day 5 days a week is going to accomplish that?" Children that spend their time learning in the context of a family learn to deal with adults, older children and younger ones, along with all the people they run into day after day, not being cooped up in a room with only their peers.

God has a plan. Its a perfect plan. He communicated it to us in his word, the Bible. Will we explore it, learn it and apply it to our lives??

Lovin Any Old Way

In Matthew 22:39 NIV Jesus says "Love your neighbor as yourself." It is often cited as Jesus calls it the second greatest commandment. It is taught as the standard for how we relate to one another. My question is this: What does that mean? What does it mean to love our neighbor as ourself?

We accept this quite readily when it is said but I'm afraid that most of us don't have a good understanding of what Jesus meant. Too often, because we have been influenced by the world, by humanism, we apply our own humanistic thinking to it. We understand it to say that we are to love others as we would want to be loved.

Let's see where that goes. Take this young man who goes to college. He moves into his co-ed dorm room right next to three outstandingly attractive young women. He thinks back to his Sunday school training and thinks "hmm, I'm supposed to love them as I'd like to be loved." As you might guess his mind quickly turns to what he'd like from them and so he proceeds to make inroads with each of them. Do you suppose this is what Jesus meant?

Of course not. God is so gracious to us, he knows our weaknesses and shortcomings and has made provision for us. He tells us how we are to love him and how we are to love others. He tells us through his commands, teachings, testimonies, principles, patterns and precepts throughout the Bible. We learn how we are to be loved and how we are to love one another. When we bring that understanding to his teaching "love your neighbor as yourself" we capture what he really called us to. Not a selfish love, but a sacrificial love.

Always be careful when interpreting what the Bible teaches to understand it in context. Its too easy for us to twist it to what we want it to say because we have been influenced by our humanistic culture and because of our sinful nature. Commit this day to learn and apply God's word to every area of your life.

A Chance to Talk Back!

Left on vacation and then didn't get back to my blog. But while I was gone I began to think how interesting it would be to modify this blog site to allow reader comments. Perhaps we can get some good discussion going.

So please feel free to post some of your thoughts or questions.

Applied Truth

In John 17:17 Jesus said "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." He is praying for the disciples and for us as believers. There is a very practical and key truth for us in this passage. Jesus knows that our lives will be without any real power unless we are being sanctified by God's word. But before this can happen, we have to learn that this great, vital truth, is something that must of necessity be constantly applied by us, and that the application of the truth is as important as the truth itself.

There is no value at all in having an intellectual awareness of the truth unless we proceed to apply it, and there are many who fail at that point. It is a sad commentary on the church today that there are so few that have even an intellectual awareness of the truth, much less the ability to apply it to all areas of life. This is the essence of having a biblical worldview. Its almost extinct except in a very small remnant of the church.

Think about what Paul was writing in Romans 6. This chapter came after a long discussion of justification by faith alone, not by works. He knew that because of our evil tendencies, we could misconstrue justification by faith alone. That we might sway ourselves over to the idea that once we were saved it did not matter whether we were obedient to the teaching of the Bible on how to live and think. Its the idea that we have our insurance policy now so we can live any way we want to.

How prevalent is this in the church today? Its called antinomianism and its rampant in the church. Given that Barna's surveys show that only between 7 and 9 percent of people in America hold to a minimal Christian biblical worldview, that is that our faith is to effect every area of life; politics, education, economics, religion, and societal matters; it is clear Paul's concern was well founded.

Think about this: does God hate sin? Of course he does. He sent his Son to die for you to pay the price for your sin. Sin has a very real cost. God didn't just decide one day to forgive and ignore the sin in the world. His justice demanded payment for the sin. Jesus paid that price for us. How can we think that any sin, before or after we are a Christian, isn't a big deal? Its rebellion against God. The antinomian doesn't take sin seriously after having been "saved." And unfortunately many Christians are unrepentant in the fact that they don't take seriously the idea that it is sin not to apply the Bible to every area of our lives.

It is clear that antinomianism is rebellion towards God. He calls us to apply the biblical truth we learn in our lives. Sanctification is not optional, its required. And if its required, we are required to acquire the knowledge of God that we might grow in every area of our lives. Just as Paul went on to say later at Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Spend your time learning the truths and principles God gave us in his word. Then make every effort to apply them in your life. Knowledge or truth without application is rebellion towards God. Let's be transformed by the renewing of our minds as we learn to apply God's word to every area of our lives that we might bring all things under him and fulfill our dominion mandate, the purpose for which we are here, so that our lives will bring glory to our Lord.

Steak and Potatoes

The writer of Hebrews tells his readers that they still need milk, not solid food. He calls them infants because they still need the elementary teachings about Christ. He says its time to get acquainted with the teachings about righteousness, the solid food of the mature, those trained to distinguish good from evil, right from wrong, and to live accordingly.

What's the state of the church today? Mature Christians or babies? Let's examine this passage from Hebrews and weigh ourselves in the balance. What are the teachings about righteousness. Righteousness can be thought of as right living, living in accordance with the commands and principles of God. The teachings he gave us because he loves us.

A mature Christian is one who is saved and cooperating with God in the process of sanctification whereby he learns the commands and principles of God and knows how to specifically apply them to every area of his life. What commands and principles of God apply to politics, education, economics, religion and societal issues?

For example, say you have a son who is growing up and is ready to select a career to pursue. What commands and principles apply to his choice of career? To the type of business? Whether he should be employed or self-employed? How he should interact with his employer or his employees? How the business is financed? Whether he should go to college? How he deals with customers or vendors? How his career choice will affect his future wife or even the timing of when he gets married? How his career choice will be affected by his desire to fulfill the biblical mandate to be fruitful and multiply? What is the dominion mandate and how does it drive these choices?

Can you give a biblical basis for each of those basic thoughts your son will need to address? If we cannot answer these questions clearly from the Bible then I would argue we aren't all that mature of a Christian. The church is called by God to train up righteousness in the men who will then train it up in their own families (yes, it is the man's responsibility). When is the last time you heard a sermon or Bible study in any of those areas? I know I haven't, over the years, heard many. So why is it a surprise to learn that most Christians are still spiritual babies.

The writer of Hebrews says the baby Christian needs to learn over and over the foundations of Christ, repentance, faith in God, baptism, death and resurrection, and eternal judgment. The mature Christian is to learn how to apply God's commands and principles to his life. Think about what you are learning. Think about what you learned over the last year. Are you striving toward solid food or are you content with the milk? If you are a leader in the church, are you bringing solid food to the table, or just the bottles? There is a time for milk ... and a time for solid food. Men, let's step up and have a full meal, a meal for men.

Where Have the Leaders Gone?

Leaders. Men are to be leaders. God designed them that way. In Genesis 1 we see God giving man a dominion mandate. To rule over and tend to that part of the earth given him. We see later in Ephesians 5:22-31 that men are to be the head of the family while fulfilling the roles of provider and protector. In Ephesians 6:4 we see men called to train up their children in the instruction of the Lord.

Men are to be leaders. But you know what's missing in our families, in our churches, and in our society? Men who truly are leaders. Godly leaders. They are almost extinct. That's not God's way, but it sure seems to be the way of the world.

If Christian men at this time in history are going to step up and take back their God-given place as leaders in their families, in the church and in society, they are going to have to accept and take on the responsibility of studying the Word of God directly. They must sit at the Master's feet and take personal responsibility for their lives and for their training.

Too many times everyone abdicates this responsibility to the minister or the Bible study teacher. Many don't even carry a Bible with them, they are content to accept whatever is told to them. Remember Acts 17:11? If you don't, look it up ... right now.

Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't get excellent Bible teaching, because you should. But God is your primary teacher, men. Leaders step up and take responsibility. God gives you the authority to be the leader. Start thinking biblically. Start applying the Bible to all of your life. Your family depends on you and will be the worse for it if you don't. Laziness in this area affects everyone around you. Your family will be weak, the church will be weak, and society will crumble.

If we aren't willing to study on our own and supplement that with excellent Bible teaching, and then apply what we learn to all of life and teach it to our family ... well, I guess its like Paul said to Timothy ... then we are worse than an infidel.

Let's get to it, men. If you're not sure where to begin, pray for God's guidance and then ask another mature Christian whom you respect. They will rejoice at the opportunity to help you.

Too Late? Don't know, or don't care?

What have we been witnessing in our world, in our country, and in the church is an alarming breakdown in the family. Marriages and families are falling apart. We are face to face with the collapse of society if this is allowed to continue.

It has been said before that our culture and our society is simply a reflection of the families that make it up. So if we stand face to face with this disaster, we must examine what has happened to the family.

What is the problem? When we look around we see growing unrighteousness in the world and in the church. The cause of unrighteousness is always the same. It always has the same thing at its core. It is living apart from God. Godlessness.

The Apostle Paul told us it was coming. He said in Romans 1:18-32 "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness ... men are without excuse ... they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator ... they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God ... they have become filled with every kind of wickedness ... they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters ... they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless ... they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Sounds like our world. Listen to the news, see what the media portrays, look at the video games children play, observe the schools. Has God been rejected? Have His laws been ignored or ridiculed? Has God been removed from our culture? Without a doubt this is happening more each day and families are being destroyed. Since the family is the key building block of all of society we see a breakdown in the church and in our nation.

Historically the leadership of the church took a strong role in training up men and women to live biblically and to train their children and their children's children in God's commands for life. What happened along the way? Where have our leaders gone?

Some churches have leaders that will "ring the bell" with a warning. Outstanding, but they are few are far between. And even this is not enough. Its only a bandaid. If we don't start teaching dad and mom how to live biblically, how to model Christianity for their children, how to see multi-generationally, and how to train their children from birth, soon it will be too late.

According to testing done by the Nehemiah Institute over the past 15 years children from Christian homes have declined in their understanding of the Bible and of how to apply it to every area of life to the point that they are almost no different than the world. At the current rate, one more generation, 10 to 15 years from now the remnant will be so small as to be negligible.

Where are our leaders? A big part of our problem is a lack of godly leadership. Leaders in much of the church no longer know how to lead. Its all about making everyone feel welcome and feel good. Give them what they want. That's not leadership, and we are paying the price for our lack of it.

Where are our leaders? Men, I call upon you to rise up, to take the mantle of leadership. Take the responsibility. Learn God's commands and principles for life. Live them and teach them to your family before its too late. God's wrath is being poured out on our land. Be one of the few lights that God will use to lead people back to the Truth.

Set the Standard, Don't Miss the Mark

Ever wonder what a small child gets out of a sermon? Does it make any difference to them to experience the teaching of God's Word in the gathering of His people? I'm certainly not an expert on children, but I know someone who is. Jesus knows the hearts and minds of our children and He instructs us in this area. He explains in the Bible what we need to know. You do turn to the Bible first to find the answers to your questions in life ... don't you?

If the Bible were your only source of direction in this matter, what would you conclude? You would see, Old Testament and New, that the small children were always a part of the gathering of the church, with their parents. It was the normative practice of the church. You would never find an example of the children being taken away for Sunday school, children's church, or for any other reason.

The gathering of the church and the hearing of the sermon, with his family, creates an excellent opportunity for a father to share with his children how the preaching of the Word is changing him and how he will apply it in his life and the life of his family.

The church is weak today because, if they know the word at all, they still don't know how to apply it to life. Look at the church, its not that different than any other organization whose people have "mostly good ethics." The church doesn't apply the word of God to every part of their lives.

Fathers, we must, as Paul said in Ephesians 5, make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. We have such a short time with our children, we must use every situation to show them how God's word applies to our own lives and how we apply it. They must see us learning and putting the commands of God to action. They learn by watching us.

Children drop out of church, by and large, after they turn 18. They don't see its relevance. Many men never go to church, men raised in the church. They don't see its relevance. They Bible is relevant to every area of life says Peter at 2 Peter 1:3. Let's train up a generation of young men and women who know the relevance of God's awesome word by applying it to our own lives and letting our children see it ... in every thing we do, and that includes how we worship God on Sundays.

Dismiss the Children

Let's consider the passage at Matthew 19:13-14: "Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'"

What was the lesson Jesus had for the disciples here? Why did the disciples rebuke those who brought the little children to the Lord? Perhaps they were annoyed that these people would bring children and in so doing delay Jesus and the disciples' journey. Perhaps they felt it was an interruption in their "important" discussions. In any case, Jesus made it clear that the children were never to be turned away.

Have you ever sat in a church where the children were asked to leave the service, to go to "children's church" (whatever that's supposed to be, I have yet to find it in the Bible) in order that the adults not be inconvienced or interrupted during the sermon? What would Jesus say? Would he say "separate the children from their parents, take them away from me as I speak words of truth through my under-shepherd, the minister"?

Sometimes we have all the good intentions in the world, as I'm sure the disciples thought they did. But the road to hell is littered with good intentions. The word for children in the passage I quoted is understood to be little children ranging from infants to 6 year olds. These children are to sit before the Lord and his teachers. This was the case for Hebrew children during the biblical times. It was the case in our early history in this country. It is only now, in our selfishness, that we turn the children out.

Children learn not only from what is being preached, but especially when they are very young they learn from watching their parent's interaction with the service. Seeing how their parents praise God in song and prayer. By watching how attentitively the parents listen to the sermon and take notes on relevant points. How the parents talk about the sermon points throughout the week with them. By seeing how their parents put into action what they are learning. It is through this that children learn about God, what it means to be a Christian and what faith is all about and how its lived. Not by being sent off to watch a movie or listen to a talk that might impart some information. They learn by watching mom and dad every day, including Sunday. That's what changes a child's life. How prideful are we if we think we can take over mom and dad's job?

Jesus would never "dismiss the children" ... let's make sure we don't either.

The Spider's Web

At the heart of all our thinking, of the way we view everything, is a set of core beliefs. Do you know what yours are? Some I have met can articulate their core beliefs well, others cannot. And just because you can articulate them well, doesn't mean that they are well thought out. More on that shortly.

We can think of all our beliefs like a giant spider web. The web a spider weaves is interesting and very durable. Portions of the web can be knocked down or even cut up with no significant effect to the web as a whole. That's the way it is with our worldview, with the way we view life and make decisions. Assume we believe in infant baptism, and someone comes along and tells us that the only valid form of baptism is baptism of believers and not baptism of infants, and they are able to prove it. This will presumably change your belief. But since its not one of your core or fundamental beliefs, life will go on without much significant change.

But what if someone came along and told you that Jesus sinned while he was on this earth, and was able to prove it. If this were the case, then Jesus' death for you wouldn't pay the price for your sins and you'd still be dead in your sins and transgressions. This would strike at your most core beliefs and begin to tear down your whole worldview. Nothing would be the same again.

Just like the spider web has just a few key strands that hold it up and has many other strands that aren't vital, so our worldview has a few core fundamental strands that we are unwilling to let go lest it require us to change our whole lives. That's why it often takes a significant event in persons life before they "see the light" and realize their need for salvation. God calls them into his Kingdom and often uses a significant event to do so.

What is one of the most core strands of your worldview? Whether Christian or not, it seems autonomy is at the center, or one of the most core of all strands. Think about it, if God is sovereign over all and we are accountable to him, then we are not autonomous. The unbeliever holds to the belief, in one fashion or another that they are autonomous, that they are the decider of right and wrong, the determiner of truth.

For the believer, though, God is the determiner of truth, the standard of right and wrong and we submit to him, understanding that we are not autonomous. Remember the First Commandment? "You shall have no other gods before Me." We are to put nothing before God. If we become the decider of right and wrong, then we are the judge, we are autonomous, and what God says becomes irrelevant ... if we so choose.

I'm afraid that the sad truth is that most Christians have found a place for God in their lives but have hung on to their need for autonomy in one or more areas. In so doing they have denied God. Let us examine our hearts. Have we really yielded to the Lord every area of our life? Have we submitted every area of life and all our choices to his written word? Paul told us in Philippians that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It is of the utmost importance. Won't you look into your heart today and see which area's you are holding on to. Let them go. Satan used the desire for autonomy to lure Eve into sin that fateful day. Let's not make the same mistake today.

Dirty Suckers

What is a worldview? A worldview is a set of assumptions by which you interpret life. It is a set of elementary assumptions that form the basis for all your thinking. For instance, if one of your assumptions is that there is no God, then you will need to evaluate all of your observations in life in a way that denies God as the Creator and instead come up with another belief system, like evolution or that aliens planted life here. If on the other hand you acknowledge that God is the Creator of all life and all things, then you will accurately evaluate all your observations in life based on that.

Now, what about dirty suckers? Have you ever watched a young child walk into a room and see a used sucker laying on a table (or even the floor)? What would the child likely do? Pick up the sucker and put it in his mouth! Yuk. You'd probably run right over and stop them, wouldn't you?

Its that way with worldviews. We don't live in a Christian culture, we live in a humanistic culture. The worldview that most around us exhibit is a humanistic worldview full of humanistic assumptions about life. Those assumptions and that worldview is like a pile of dirty suckers. How many have you picked up and put in your mouth?

We tend to think and act like those around us. As Christians, we must carefully evaluate all of our assumptions about life in light of the Bible, God's revealed word to us. Take my example I started with here. Many Christians have bought into the worldview of evolution. Why? Its that dirty sucker they picked up. They believe that science and man's reason, apart from God, is more authoritative than the Bible. They see through man's eyes, not God's eyes. They picked up the sucker of humanism.

Well, you get the idea. We need to evaluate all that we do, all that we think, and all that we understand in terms of the Bible. We must have a biblical worldview in all areas of life. That includes marriage, family life, education, economics, business, politics, social issues, and religion. Do you understand what the Bible says in each of those areas? Open up your Bible and study! Seek out mature Christians who can teach and mentor you in this regard.

As it says in Ephesians 5:15-16 "Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."

Neutral, for cars not Christians

Tell me, what's the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian? I hope your answer was everything! Look at what the Bible says. It says the Christian is a child of God, redeemed by Jesus Christ, who will one day spend eternity with God in heaven. The non-Christian isn't a child of God and has only to expect eternity in hell. The Christian seeks to show his love for God by living in obedience to all that God has commanded. The non-Christian lives each day for anything but God. He denies his Creator and rebels against Him.

If you start to make a list you will see that there is a great antithesis between Christian and non-Christian. If you like, make a study of the Bible and find how many times God differentiates between believer, unbeliever and the neutrals. You won't find it. God tells us there are no neutrals. He says you are either with Me or against Me. If you die as a "neutral" you'll find out where "neutrals" end up.

So why do people believe that one can be neutral in any area of life? Why do you buy into such thinking? We all get trapped by it from time to time. Every area of our thought life, of our actions, of all that we do, are either in obedience to God or in rebellion. There are no neutral spheres of life.

Take your choice: marriage, education, retirement, church government, civil government, men's roles, women's roles, discipline, welfare, business, recreation, and so forth. Does God give us direction as to what we are to do, or are those neutral areas of life that we can do whatever we choose without regard to Him? You might say "of course not" but what do your actions say?

If we are a child of God, don't you suppose that He is training us in and through every area of life? Don't you suppose He wants us to be obedient to Him in every area of life? Aren't we to be His witness in the world?

This myth of neutrality has blurred the line between what it means to be a Christian and a non-Christian. It is immorality toward God, the One who loved us so much He was willing to die for us.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:17-18 that we are to no longer walk in the ways of the unbeliever. We must choose in every area of life not to behave or live in a way which imitates the behavior of those who are unsaved. Rather, as Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 5:1, we are to be imitators of God as his dearly loved children. There is no middle ground.

Do you have the courage to live for Christ in every area of life? Does your thinking operate under the lordship of Christ, or have you become an enemy of God through neutral, unbelieving thought patterns?

Neutral is for cars, not for Christians. Choose this day whom you will serve!

Immoral Christians

What did you think of when you saw that phrase "Immoral Christians?" What would you think if you saw a newspaper headline saying "Christians Caught in Immorality?" Probably that once again someone fell to sexual immorality. Adultery or fornication followed by divorce. Perhaps some might even think of some financial wrong doing. Some ministry leader appropriating funds given the ministry for his own gain.

Those are the usual thoughts, but they don't reflect one of the biggest areas of immorality in the church today. One that is deserving of the headline "Millions of Christians Caught in Rampant Immorality." What am I thinking? Read on.

What did Jesus say was the greatest commandment? Its given to us in Matthew 22:37, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." No one ever thinks about the last part of that commandment. We think about whether we love God with all our heart, all our life, all our emotion. But what about our minds?

Do you love God with all your mind? With the way you think? With the way you reason? Is your thinking biblical? We are called by Him to be diligent in our thought life, in how we reason. It is shocking how biblically unprepared most people are. Most are not thoroughly trained in how to think and reason as a Christian. Most are well trained in how to think and reason humanistically. Did you know that humanism is a religion? That it is anti-God. That is arises from the pits of hell? Did you know that we have all been taught it most of our lives?

It takes some serious work and study, some disciplining of our minds to overcome this. God is willing to help us in this regard if we are willing to apply ourselves. But there, that's the big catch, are we willing to apply ourselves. How about you? Do you study the Bible with a purpose? Do you seek out His great commands, precepts and principles for life? Or is your study unfocused, without purpose?

Choose this day to train up your mind. Participate in some challenging Bible studies, ones that press you outside your comfort zone. Attend a church where there are other mature growing Christians. Seek out other Christians that have and are training their minds, that are being obedient to God and seeking to live Biblically.

You see, God said we are to love Him with all our mind. If we don't do this, then we are not loving Him. There is no neutral ground. If you're not loving Him then you are loving someone or something else. If He is not your first love, then you are a most immoral Christian and that newspaper article is for you. Choose this day who you will serve and love.

Might They Call The Evil ... Good?

Occasionally one comes across a news item that is so ... something ... that words can't do it justice. I'll just share it here with you, for whatever its worth.

New York Senator Hillary Clinton was recently listed as the "most admired woman" in America according to a Gallup Organization poll. The article went on to say that in other polls she has been ranked "as the most corrupt person in America and the sixth most evil person of the last millennium."

What's interesting is that Mrs. Clinton has come in first or second on the "most admired" list every year for the last 12 years.

The point of my comment is not to praise or denounce Mrs. Clinton but to give you a prime example of the thinking of a non-Christian. It would seem most Americans live and think as unbelievers. The Bible tells us that the unbeliever (and the unrepentant Christian) will not only do wrong but can be expected to approve of those who do likewise. Look around, you'll see it every day.

Romans 1:32 says: "Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Here we have an interesting if not sad example of what God tells us. God gives us His word that we might know how to live and think. Let's use this as a reminder that we might conform our thinking to His word as see evil as evil and good as good.

Me a Missionary?

Have you ever thought about giving to missions? Helping to support our missionaries here and abroad. Have you ever thought about being a missionary? Jesus gave us all a command to be missionaries in Matthew 28:19-20 He said:

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Make disciples of all nations. I guess that would mean our nation too. Where should we start? The best place to look is the place that God put us in. Are we being faithful missionaries at home? Think about it for minute. What does a missionary do? He is sent to a group of people who often know little or nothing about our Savior. He makes every effort through prayer and diligence to introduce them to Christ and once they are saved to teach them all that Jesus commanded that they might show their love for the Savior by living obediently to Him.

Now what is a parent if not a missionary to their children? These little ones are given to the parents by God. The little ones know little or nothing about our Savior. God calls the parent to make every effort through prayer and diligence to introduce them to Christ and once they are saved to teach them all that Jesus commanded that they might show their love for the Savior by living obediently to Him. (And that our children might do the same for their children one day.)

What an awful thing when parents are off worrying about the rest of the world and dropping the ball on the mission field God first laid before them. I'm not saying that we should ignore the needs of others, but I am saying that the Bible teaches our responsibility to the little lives God blesses us with first. As and after we have been obedient to that, then we can look to the needs of others.

Don't get so caught up in the affairs and busyness of life that you forget the mission field God put you on as a parent. What an awesome responsibility and privilege. Don't miss it.

70% deceived

As a Christian parent does your faith make a difference in your life? Think about it in relation to your children. When God sent those little blessings into your life, what was the purpose? Why did He give them to you? When they leave your home one day to raise up their own families, what do you hope to have accomplished in their lives?

I read a Barna research report today that surveyed parents thoughts on this very subject. I was shocked at the results. Barna found that 70% of born again Christian parents did not include their child's salvation as a critical parental emphasis. Can you believe that?

We need to understand that the very first place the Great Commission should be worked out is in the lives of our children! Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 28 to reach people for salvation and then to train them up to obey His commands. Do you suppose this applies first and foremost to strangers and people in far away lands? No, it starts first at home with the children He gives you. This is your FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT duty as a parent. God wants you to be devoted to introducing your children to Christ and then discipling them.

85% of Christian parents delegate the training up of their children to the school system. How may of those children will be introduced to Christ and discipled to obey His commands? Remember what I wrote previously about the Supreme Court's ruling about even displaying the Commandments in schools? No, we wouldn't want to do that, they just might meditate on those Commandments and obey them! Those children aren't going to be discipled for Christ there, but they will be discipled for humanism, for the idea that truth is relative, that they can decide to live however they want, that God isn't the creator of the universe and that they came from a puddle of slime by chance billions of years ago.

Well if 70% of Christian parents don't understand why God sent those children to them much less their duty relative to the Great Commission, what should we expect of our children? Should they be any different than the world? Is it any wonder that Christian children grow up to be just as involved in adultery, divorce, living together unmarried, and so forth as non-Christians?

Let's take some time to study God's word and see what the life purpose is for these children God blessed us with. Let's see what it says about how and what it is we are to teach them. Lives are at stake here. Lives for all of eternity. This is no small matter, your child's destiny is at stake. Will you invest the time to learn? Will you invest the time to teach them? Or is your child's eternal destiny not that important compared to what you want to do? Don't bother answering that, you actions will show where your heart is.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Listen and obey what He says this day.

All Washed Up

I was thinking about sanctification today. That whole process that Jesus works in our lives to help us become more like Him. Do we really understand how important it is for us to cooperate with Him in this?

Some believe that Jesus came to die for our sins that we might be saved and one day go to heaven and live there happily ever after. Surprise! That's not the whole story. Jesus came to die for us that we might be saved and from that day forward begin to live more like Him each day.

Remember the Great Commission in Matthew 28? What did Jesus say? To make disciples (help lead others to Christ and salvation) and to teach them all that Jesus commanded. Why teach them? So that they might grow in sanctification and live according to the principles and commands that He set forth. We are to be saints, set apart, His special children. We are to be different from the world. He teaches us how to be more like Him and He expects our cooperation and growth.

Its like when a child is born into your family, is that the end of the story? No, its just the beginning. You set out on the path of training and educating your children. Teaching them first and foremost how to respond to God's call in their life and how to live obediently to the commands of God. You are to live out the Great Commission towards each child God blesses you with!! He gave them to you, not to anyone else. Don't delegate this duty and privilege.

Anyway, its the same way with God. When we are born into His family, He begins to teach us and train us up to live obediently towards Him. He personally works in our lives. He leads us in sanctification that we might reflect the awesomeness of who He is in our lives and that He might be glorified.

So how about you? Are you all washed up?

Silence

R.L. Dabney was a great preacher and soldier during the Civil War. He served on the staff of Stonewall Jackson during this time. Dabney was a great man and had astute and prophetical insights into what was to come in the history of our country. I came across one of his quotes on education the other day. It said:

"The education of children for God is the most important business done on earth. It is the one business for which the earth exists. To it all politics, all war, all literature, all money-making, ought to be subordinated; and every parent especially ought to feel every hour of the day, that, next to making his own calling and election sure, this is the end for which he is kept alive by God - this is his task on earth."

Dabney was a man of insight and here speaks the essence of the words of Deuteronomy 6:6-9. Dabney also wrote that the failure of parents to live up to this standard would result in the disintegration of families and our society. In this regard he was a prophet.

Christian parents have the duty, under God, to educate their children. It is their duty, not the church's duty and certainly not the state's duty. Unfortunately 85% of Christian families have not realized this and most of them don't even know it. How can this be? Where are our preachers and leaders in the church? Why are they silent on this?

Does the Bible speak to everything we need for life and godliness? 2 Peter 1:3

Does the Bible speak about how we are to educate our children? Deuteronomy 6, Proverbs, Ephesians 6, and many other places.

Do we believe that we are to be obedient to God in every area of our life?

Are you?

Relationships

What is the relationship between a husband and a wife?
What is the relationship between a parent and a child?
What is the relationship between an employer and an employee?
What is the relationship between a member of the church and an elder?
What is the relationship between a citizen and their government?
What is the relationship between two individuals?

How you define those relationships tells a lot about your biblical worldview. Any attempt to define relationships apart from God's Bible revealed law is a form of rebellion. In His word He defines each of those relationships and tells us how they are to be lived. Can you give the biblical definition of each of them? If not, you are likely functioning in one or more of them in an unbiblical fashion, in rebellion against God. You might not even know it!

Take the time today to make sure you can give the biblical answer to each of those questions. If you live in each of those relationships biblically, the way God intended for you to, you will be blessed. Choose man's way and you'll get ... well just look around, what you see is what you'll get.

Bad Stuff - Good Answer

Is there any problem in our society with children being out of control, disobedient and rebellious? It sure looks that way, but let's not just place that on the children's shoulders. All of society is like that, adults and children. Its not unexpected though, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3 about what things would look like in the future. He said to expect that people would become "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good ..." and so forth.

Isn't that what we see in our world today? Why do you suppose that is? Could it be that our culture and our schools are teaching everyone that truth, right and wrong, are relative? They are whatever you want them to be. Its all about you. Look at the harvest of that kind of thinking.

Paul went on in 2 Timothy 3:15-17 to tell us that the Bible has the answer. Truth is absolute. There are absolute rights and wrongs and God's word tells how to discern them. God's word, especially when we learn it from infancy, is able to make us wise, equipping us for every good work. The answer is there if we will just study it and apply it to our lives. Sounds simple enough, but the world is warring against us in this.

Even though God's word gives clear answers and direction for life, our culture, our schools and our government don't want you to go there. Sound foolish? Consider the 1980 Supreme Court decision in Stone v. Graham. I quote "If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the schoolchildren to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey, the Commandments."

Horrible, wouldn't it be? What if children were taught not to take the Lord's name in vain, not to kill, not to steal, not to lie, not to commit adultery, not to want other peoples stuff. What if children were taught to honor their father and mother, to honor marriage, and to respect authority?

Let's see, society doesn't want it taught, the schools won't allow it to be taught nor will the government and the courts tolerate it, so who's left?? Could it be you? You can study, learn, and apply God's word to your life! Then you can teach your children God's commands for their lives! You can make the commitment and change your children's lives.

As Moses said in Deuteronomy, choose this day, life or death, blessings or curses. The balls in your court, what will you do?

Chicken Coops

A workman approved, that's what Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:15. We are to be a workman approved who does not need to be ashamed. One who can correctly handle the word of God. Just what does that mean?

Ever ask a group "how did people get saved during the Old Testament period?" Its interesting to hear the common responses. "Well, they were saved by keeping the law." You remind them that no one has ever perfectly kept the law, except for Jesus. Guess that means everyone went to hell, right? "No" they say, "the system of sacrifices paid for their sins so they could be saved." Nope, that's not it. No where in the Old Testament does it say that it was through this system of works that they were saved.

What then? You remind them about the great faith chapter. Hebrews 11 tells us that those people from Old Testament times were saved by faith, just like you and me. The writer of Hebrews tells us that those who were truly men and women of faith were the ones saved. Jesus died for you and for me, and for all of them who repented of their sins and were saved by grace through faith. Then your group says "oh yes, I knew that, how could I have forgotten?"

When I think of a workman approved, I think of a carpenter. Some carpenters would be lucky to know how to build a decent looking chicken coop. They can grab a board here and there and pound some nails and when they get done it might even look like a chicken coop or possibly something else. Others can build a beautiful mansion. They can take that same wood and craft it into a wonderfully made home.

What kind of Christian are you? Do you pickup a stray verse here or there, a thought from this person or that, or something from last week's sermon (you do remember last weeks sermon, right?) Then when its time to defend the faith or make choices in your life you struggle to understand what God's will and direction are for you. Like the chicken coop builder, you're not quite sure how to put it all together.

Or are you the Christian who diligently studies the word. One who pulls together the teaching of the Bible. One who finds those timeless principles the Bible teaches so that we will know how to live and choose. This is the one who is a workman approved and whose faith is like a beautiful home built by a skilled carpenter.

If you struggle with being a workman approved, choose to change. Ask God to help you. Seek help from another Christian who is a workman approved. Seek help from your minister or Bible teacher. Don't let another day go by building chicken coops when you can build mansions. Study the word of God with a purpose. Your purpose is to be a workman approved knowing how to correctly handle the truth and applying it to every part of your life!

When Does Life Begin?

We have all listened to the abortion debate for years and see that it still rages on. Let me be clear ... abortion is wrong, it is the taking of an innocent life. For those who don't think so, the question should be, "what right do you have to say that?" I'm glad you asked.

God is the Creator and giver of life. He gives us His word so that we know how to live and how to make right choices about everything, including abortion. So what does the Bible say? Take the Sixth Commandment, remember, it says that we are not to take the life of another. What does the abortionist say? "The unborn child is not a person yet." Then the debate heats up as to when life begins. My read of Scripture is that God has ordained our lives from before time even began, but let me give you a simple analysis:

Exodus 21:22-25 says that if a pregnant woman was even accidently injured and the baby died, the one causing the injury commited murder and was subject to the death penalty.

No talk here about when life begins. No lengthy debates. No millions and millions of unborn babies being murdered. According to biblical law, if an unborn baby dies, so does the person who caused its death. Is abortion wrong according to the Bible? Without a doubt.

The Bible is clear. God's command is clear. The only way to "justify" the killing of these innocent children is to try and rationalize your way around this clear teaching and then act in total rebellion toward your Creator. Even if our civil authorities won't punish those who murder, God will. There will be an accounting before Him.

If you've ever considered abortion stop and think and read what God says about those precious children He has blessed us with.

Divided and Conquered

Unity. Not something found very often in life today. Not found in marriages, families or churches for that matter. In Ephesians 4, Paul talks a lot about unity. It is a Biblical principle that we are to apply to our marriages, families and churches. So what keeps us from it?

Most would likely say the problems stems from a me centeredness. And in part I would agree with that, but for a different reason. The problem comes from a failure to understand the Creator creature principle. God is the Creator and we are His created creatures. Yet we live our lives like we are in charge of the universe. Not you though. Right?

How often do you decide what to do or not to do completely without reference to what your Creator has commanded? How many daily decisions do you seek His guidance on? The big ones only? You don't want to bother Him with the little ones? Oh right, He is infinite, but I'll just handle this one. Which leads us to "just handle" the slightly bigger ones, and eventually "just handle" the big ones too.

Take the education of our children as an example. Does the Bible speak to this issue or has God remained silent on such an important matter? How we educate and train our children up is one of the most important decisions we will ever make, (no "do overs" you know.) So how do we decide? Do we study God's word and look for His clear direction, or just blindly follow the rest of the herd? It seems at least 85% of Christians just follow the herd according to Barna's research. We turn our children over to an unbelieving institution to be trained, surprise, unbiblically, both as to content and as to methodology.

Gary DeMar recently said in Biblical Worldview magazine "Saying prayers at sporting events, reciting 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance, praying around a flag pole once a year, and having the right to 'a moment of silence' do not constitute a Christian education. The entire curriculum must be Christ-centered."

The worldview of children from Christian families who are not trained up by either their parents or by one of the 5% of Christian schools who do teach a biblical worldview, has continued to plummet to the point that most have adopted a fully formed humanistic understanding of life rather than a biblical one. Is that what you want for your children or grandchildren?

The sad part is, not only are families missing it, the church is too. When churches divide up their Sunday schools and send the teachers and children off to different corners of the church rather than keeping everyone together, what are they doing? They are telling the families that the principle of fathers and mothers training up their children under God is not the norm, certainly not the norm for the church.

Let's divide them up and let them each go their own way. This way the church will not be united under God. Rather it will be divided and ultimately ineffective at changing the children's lives. Who likes this plan? God or Satan? It certainly doesn't reflect a biblical methodology.

The vast majority of all children graduating from school never return to the church. Is the current system so successful that we can ignore God's principles for our lives? Read your Bible. Obey God. He will bless your obedience. He says so.

Eighth Commandment?

I just spent 4 weeks teaching the Eighth Commandment. There was so much there, so much that applied to our lives today. Many look at the Eighth Commandment and think "I don't steal so that one's not a problem for me." However, just as Jesus explained to the people at the Sermon on the Mount, I'll remind you that there is so much more there. Why is stealing even an issue? Why aren't we free to take whatever we want? Did God authorize the private ownership of property? If so, what did He want us to do with it? Did He give us principles and commands as to how we were to manage that property under our control? The Eighth Commandment bears on that all. Do you know the answers?

Many Christians will say they believe the Bible has answers for every area of life (well maybe "many" is a little much, but a few still do.) If the Bible does have the answers for every area of life, why is it that when I ask someone what the Bible says about an issue they respond with "well, I think ...." The question wasn't whether "you" have all the answers but whether the Bible does. Most Christians are ill equipped to answer the question "what does the Bible have to say about how we are to manage our assets and resources." Or how about this popular one, "does the Bible teach us anything about how our children are to be educated?" Does the Bible speak to every area of life, or did God leave us in the dark?

Certainly God can't hold us accountable for what He didn't give us guidance on. But as we have learned from the clear teaching of the Bible, He did speak to every area of life. So what is your answer? How are we to manage our assets? How are we to educate our children? If you can't answer these questions, you are in rebellion against God's clear teaching. If you can answer the questions but aren't being obedient to that clear teaching, you are in rebellion against God's clear teaching. If you can't find the time, the energy, the desire, or the mental effort to seek out and find the answer to the questions, you are in rebellion against God's clear teaching (see a pattern developing here?)

If you know the answers and are obediently following His clear teaching, congratulations!!! You are part of the minority holding onto a biblical worldview. You know God's blessing for obedience. You know what it is to grow in maturity and wisdom. For the rest, don't despair. Today is a new day with new opportunities to choose His path. Study God's word. Seek His principles for life. If you don't know how to get started, email me and I'll help you. God stands ready and waiting to walk with you minute by minute of every day. Won't you choose to walk with Him?

A Vision for Life

Proverbs 29:18 says "Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." (KJV). Think about how true that is. Think about how we see that in our day.

The proverb is telling us that by not keeping the laws, precepts or principles through which God teaches us how to live and how to make decisions in our life, we will perish or be cursed. On the other hand, if we have that vision or picture of what God has for us, the wonderful principles that our Creator has given us so that we will know how to live under Him, we will be blessed more than we can ever imagine!

The problem is that many people think they will be free if they can do what they want, when they want, where they want and how they want; all without consequence. That is, of course, the foolishness of man. If we all did that it would be anarchy. We would be living selfishly, for ourselves, and stomping all over each other.

If I wanted to be free to drive 90 miles an hour through town without regard for others, because its what pleases me, and if you want to cross streets against the stop light, and we just happen to meet ... well, it wouldn't be pretty. But we would each be doing what we wanted, we would each be free, right? No, we would pay the consequences for our foolishness.

We can only truly be free if we have standards and principles by which to live. Our Creator, the only one who can truly know, set those principles in place before time began, and He tells us what they are in His word. Let's not loose the vision and perish, living cursed lives. Let's have the vision and keep His law which He gave us because He loves us. Let's study His word and be obedient to it. Then we will truly be free.

Reminders, Reminders

Ever need a reminder? Peter tells us that we do. In 2 Peter 1:12-15 he says that its alright to remind us even of things we already know. I recall a situation where two Christians whom we'll call John and Bill get into a conversation. Bill feels he has been called of God to stay home with his children while his wife works, after all she makes more than he does. John warns Bill that God never calls you to do something contrary to what the Bible says. He reminds Bill that he is instructed in the Bible to be the provider for his family and his wife is to be his helper in all of life, not the other way around. Maybe Bill gets it, maybe he doesn't.

The sad part is, 6 months later John and his wife Mary decide that they really want to get that lake home they have always dreamed about. They want to get it now, before the prices get much higher and while the children are still young enough to want to use it with them. Problem is they can't afford it on John's wages so they decide to put the children in daycare and have Mary take a job. They rationalize that God is calling them to take this action so they can spend more time with their children enjoying each other's company at the lake.

John forgets that God never calls us to do anything contrary to what He has already revealed to us in the Bible. God tells us in His word that our wife is to be under our authority and protection and not out working under another man's authority. God calls our wife to be our helper in accomplishing our dominion mandate under God, not helping another man to complete his.

John missed the boat. Why? Why do so many Christians miss the boat? Because they are not reminded, as Peter said, reminded constantly of what God's word teaches. It's easy to rationalize and stray from the path and loose the blessing God has for you.

Two things you can do to avoid this. First, spend time studying your Bible, searching out the principles that God gives you for direction in your life. Second, put yourself under consistent godly teaching. Teaching that helps you learn and apply those principles that God has graciously given you so that you would know what to do in each situation you encounter in life. Then you will be able to stay on that narrow path, walking with our Lord, day by day.

Solving Problems

Problems. Life sometimes seems to deal us problem after problem. Where do problems come from? If we lived in a perfect world and if we (big if) were perfect too, there wouldn't be any problems. So where do problems come from?

Obviously they come from sin. That terrible 3 letter word we are all so good at. I've defined sin from time to time as a "disease of the attitude," and it really is. Jesus spoke about attitudes when at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 He gave us the eight attitudes or Beatitudes every Christian should have.

I challenge you to review and study this passage. Next time you run into a problem or see a problem developing with your children, look to the Beatitudes and discover which attitude is missing. Then choose to live that attitude yourself and train the attitude up in your children's lives. Watch the results. You'll see Christian character being manifested and true blessing coming to your life.

Jesus taught us these Christ-like attitudes that are vital to our lives. Let's learn them, keep them ever present, and live them out that our lives might be a testimony, that our children might be a witness, and that our family might honor our Creator in all that it does.