Would You Push The Button?

Would you do something that you knew was wrong simply because someone in a position of authority told you to do it? Let’s imagine that someone who was in authority over you told you that you had to do something that you knew was wrong, something that if you were questioned, you would swear that you would never do.
Do you think you would go along with the command of the authority figure?
In July 1961, Psychologist Stanley Milgram devised a study to answer this question and what he found was extremely troubling. The way the study worked was that volunteers were solicited to participate in a learning exercise. In one room, one of the volunteers was placed and they were to be the student, in another room the second volunteer was placed and they were told that they were the teacher. The teacher was given a list of words and they were to teach the student the words by speaking to them via a microphone but they couldn’t see each other. The teacher was also told that the student had electrical wires attached to their body and that each time the student missed a question the teacher was to press a button to administer an electrical shock. They were also told that each time they were to increase the voltage by 15 volts and this would continue all the way to the level of 450 volts. In the same room with the person who was to be the teacher was one of the people who were conducting the experiment. Their job was to act as an authority figure and to try and keep the teacher from being reluctant to administer the shock.
One of the interesting things about this is that while the student wasn’t actually hooked up to any sort of electrical device the experimenters had recorded sounds that you might expect to come from a person who actually was being shocked. Then just to add an extra element of reality to the whole thing they gave the teacher a shock with the electrode so they could see what the student was to experience.
Their findings are unsettling to say the least, because after conducting this test, they found that 65% of the people were willing to administer the 450 volt shock and only one person refused to go above 300 volts. You may ask what they did to get these people to do something this heinous. Did they beat them? Did they threaten them? No, in fact they only had four pre determined statements that they would make to the participants to keep them going and over and over again this is exactly what the people did, they just kept going.
What about you, what do you think that you would have done? Would you have just went along with doing something that you knew was wrong just because someone in authority told you to? What if they threatened you, would you do it then? Where is your line that you wouldn’t cross?
2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
You have a responsibility and the fulfillment of that responsibility will not only determine to a great degree your life here on this earth but you can also know that there will come a day when you’ll give an account of what you did here on this earth.
If anyone, be it a supervisor at work, a friend, or even a government official who tries to get you to do something that you know to be wrong you have not only a responsibility to not only say no but to stand your ground by the power of Jesus and not do it.
May I suggest to you that this is going to require prior preparation on your part. Don’t just imagine that you would do the right thing if confronted with the situation. The reality is that you’re shaped largely by the small decisions that you make each day and although people don’t like to admit it there’s really very little legitimate “grey area.” The Bible is really very clear so it’s important that you are daily in it to find out where Jesus stands on issues. Then when you’re confronted with situations where you are tempted to compromise, say absolutely not, and just walk away. In doing this you’re working with the Holy Spirit in the process of sanctification and you can be sure that He’ll help you to do it.
God Bless and don’t forget to live out your faith today.

The Best Wedding Gift is From God

As a ministry leader God has called me to wrestle with difficult issues that prior to my call to this position I had taken for granted. I find that I have formed opinions based more on a general sense of what the Bible says rather than just allowing Scripture to speak for itself. The issue of Christian people living together outside the covenant of marriage is one such issue. I had an opinion on the issue and didn’t give much thought to it until I found myself in a position where I was required to make decisions concerning this issue as it relates to the ministry. God has set a day when I will be required to give an answer for all that has been entrusted to me. It is my sincere desire that on that day I will be found faithful in my duties. Therefore as I approach this issue I jettison all preconceived notions, denominational stances and ideas as it relates to this issue. I simply want to understand to the best that God will allow what His Word says and stand only upon that.

As it relates to the issue of marriage the Scriptures are replete with passages concerning the institution of marriage. Mark 10:6 “But in the beginning, at the time of creation, 'God made them male and female,' as the scripture says. 7 'And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, 8 and the two will become one.' So they are no longer two, but one. 9 No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together." I will not begin to deal with all of them, however I believe I am correct in saying that God holds a very special place in His heart for marriage. I believe that there is at least a two fold reason why. The first has to do with His love for people. It goes far beyond my understanding as over and over it’s demonstrated in the Bible. Divorce hurts all involved and therefore God hates it. Malachi 2:16 "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel. "I hate it when one of you does such a cruel thing to his wife. Make sure that you do not break your promise to be faithful to your wife."

I believe that a second reason that God holds a special place in His heart as it relates to marriage has to do with the fact that when He sees a marriage it’s more than the union of the man and woman There is also a picture of His relationship between Him and His creation. Romans 6:5 “For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was.” As this picture is figuratively portrayed throughout the Bible God speaks very lovingly and protectively of it. It is something very special to Him. The physical sign of that is found in the sexual union of a man and woman who have made this vow of marriage. We can see that God fiercely protects this sacred act over and over because it’s not just something casual to Him.1Corinthians 6:16 “Or perhaps you don't know that the man who joins his body to a prostitute becomes physically one with her? The scripture says quite plainly, "The two will become one body."

There are at least two words in the New Testament that deal with the issue of sex outside marriage or as the Bible frequently translates it, “fornication.” Below I have listed the two different Greek words that identify fornication along with their definition. I have also included the Strong’s number designation with each verse so that you can correctly understand the appropriate definition.
G4202 porneia Thayer Definition: 1) illicit sexual intercourse 1a) adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals etc.
G4203 porneuō Thayer Definition:1) to prostitute one’s body to the lust of another 2) to give one’s self to unlawful sexual intercourse 2a) to commit fornication

Matthew 15:19 For from your heart come the evil ideas which lead you to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things; to rob, lie, and slander others. 4202
Mark 7:21 For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, 4202
Acts 15:20 Instead, we should write a letter telling them not to eat any food that is ritually unclean because it has been offered to idols; to keep themselves from sexual immorality; and not to eat any animal that has been strangled, or any blood.
Acts 15:29 eat no food that has been offered to idols; eat no blood; eat no animal that has been strangled; and keep yourselves from sexual immorality. You will do well if you take care not to do these things. With our best wishes." 4202
Acts 21:25 But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent them a letter telling them we decided that they must not eat any food that has been offered to idols, or any blood, or any animal that has been strangled, and that they must keep themselves from sexual immorality." 4202
Romans 1:29 They are filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and vice; they are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit, and malice. They gossip 4202
1Corinthians 6:13 Someone else will say, "Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food." Yes; but God will put an end to both. The body is not to be used for sexual immorality, but to serve the Lord; and the Lord provides for the body. 4202
1Corinthians 6:18 Avoid immorality. Any other sin a man commits does not affect his body; but the man who is guilty of sexual immorality sins against his own body.
1Corinthians 7:2 But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband. 4202
1Corinthians 10:8 We must not be guilty of sexual immorality, as some of them were---and in one day twenty-three thousand of them fell dead. 4203
2Corinthians 12:21 I am afraid that the next time I come my God will humiliate me in your presence, and I shall weep over many who sinned in the past and have not repented of the immoral things they have done---their lust and their sexual sins. 4202
Galatians 5:19 What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; 4202
Ephesians 5:3 Since you are God's people, it is not right that any matters of sexual immorality or indecency or greed should even be mentioned among you. 4202
Colossians 3:5 You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry). 4202
1Thesselonians 4:3 God wants you to be holy and completely free from sexual immorality. 4202
Revelation 9:21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic, their sexual immorality, or their stealing. 4202

I recognize that obedience to these commands in Scripture presents some difficulties. It’s not my intention to make light of very real problems, nor do I seek to offer pat answers to difficult questions. However, I believe that the Word of God is very clear on this issue even though our culture and often times our ‘Christian’ culture would have a greatly different view. Please understand that this does not leave you in a hopeless position if you are in this situation because God tells us in 1 John 1:9 that is we will confess our sin He will not only forgive but purify you from unrighteousness. Matthew 10:29 says, “For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's consent. 30 As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!” God cares about you and will not let you down, no matter what your needs are, just trust Him as you live out your faith.

A Word From Our Penguins

Do you think that you can learn Christian doctrine from some space traveling penguins? I want to warn you right up front you may be a bit uncomfortable with what you’re about to read. I’m going to step into an area that many pastor’s fear to tread. Today I set my sights on the sacred cow of Christianity, literally.
There’s a Christian cartoon that my kids love to watch, actually I really like it too. It’s called “3-2-1 Penguins” and it’s about these penguins who fly around in a space ship dealing with various moral problems in the galaxy.
Recently I was watching an episode and was amazed at the issue this children’s cartoon took up. It seems that the birds had been dispatched by Starfleet Command to a planet where they were having a problem with the gravitational pull on the planet. It had become so great that it was pulling everything down. Upon investigation the penguins found that the thing that was causing the extra gravitational pull was the over abundance of calories in their diet. The people on the planet had become absolutely gluttonous, as they ate and ate and ate some more. Even when they didn’t feel like eating they continued to eat.
Now you may be thinking right now, “This is not very spiritual.” But it really is because there’s no area of your life that God isn’t concerned with and He desires that Jesus Christ be your only master. Unfortunately it’s not enough that this is a problem within Christianity but to make it worse it’s really become a joke among many people. In the denomination that I’m affiliated with it’s laughingly said that we can’t have a meeting without fried chicken.
In 1 Corinthians 9:25 Paul talks about our Christian walk as if it we were athletes training and competing in a great race when he says, “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.” We in this country and more specifically in Christianity have gotten out of control with this. I examine my own life and find that I am as guilty as anyone. This lack of obedience to the Lord has radically changed not only the quality but the duration of our lives in this country as we have allowed our cravings for not just food but really any pleasure that seems to come along to control our lives. Recently I heard a statistic that the average user of Facebook spends more than four hours at a time, becoming completely consumed with this internet site. This is not simply allowing ourselves to be out of control but in many ways I believe steps into the realm of being idolatrous as we give ourselves over to these pleasures to be controlled by them. Perhaps this morning as you listen to this you’re not only being convicted of an area in your own life where there is a problem but you may also be thinking of all the times that you’ve tried to deal with it and failed. Maybe the thought of another failure is worse than just giving in to this area where you have become trapped, almost as if a prisoner to your own desires. If that’s the case I’ve got some great news for you because greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.
If you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior from the punishment for sin, no matter how many attempts you’ve made to overcome this God can and will deliver you. Now God may use a number of methods to destroy that stronghold in your life. You may simply go to Him and confess this to Him and sometimes God takes down that fortress in your life, other times He may feel that it’s best to work in you through a process over time to help to bring about that Christ likeness in your life. Romans 12: 1-2 says, “Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Are you allowing anything to get out of control in your life? Will you go to God and confess that to Him tell Him about the struggles you’ve had with this and ask Him to deliver you from it. Then will you choose to walk in the power that God has given you and overcome that stronghold? God Bless and don’t forget to live out your faith today

I Believe the Bible

In George Marsden’s book, “Reforming Fundamentalism” he stated that 85% of the students in one of America's largest evangelical seminaries stated that they do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. What do you believe about the Bible do you feel that you can rely on it? Certainly this is one of the most important questions that should be asked by a person and I’d like to examine the issues of both inerrancy and inspiration.
Essentially what we’re asking ourselves here has to do with where the Bible comes from and whether you can really trust it or not and I think the best place to start is to find out what the Bible has to say about itself. In 2 Timothy 3:16 the Bible says if itself that, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” You’ll notice first if you look at that passage that it says, ‘all’ and of course you don’t need to be a Greek scholar to easily recognize what ‘all’ means. When I tell my son Bob to eat ‘all’ his peas at dinner I mean, as I say to him often that, “Everyone of his little green buddies needs to be in his belly, none left out.”
And so it is with this passage, ‘all’ means from the first word in Genesis to the last word in Revelation and every word in between is included. So we understand that we’re talking about ‘all’ or the whole of Scripture. All Scripture is what? Well it’s inspired, or God breathed. Just as right now I’m breathing out words of teaching into this microphone, God breathed out His Word into the Bible. Now this doesn’t mean that He sat Matthew down when He was ready to write the New Testament and told him to grab a pen and some paper and copy as He spoke.
No, God choose Matthew as His instrument through which He would work to produce this book, and as such we see the distinctive of the instrument in the personality of Matthew as he wrote yet it wholly remains the Word of God.
Now don’t miss the point here because it’s not that the book of Matthew or the entirety of the Bible for that matter contains the Word of God, no, the book of Matthew and the Bible as a whole is the Word of God. This is essential that you have this because it’s a place where false teaching worms it’s way in and begins to minimize God’s Word by calling into question portions of it.
Alright so we see that the Bible says that it is inspired or God breathed, but we also see that people within the pages of the Bible say also that it is inspired and without error. In 2 Peter 1:21 for example, the Apostle writes, “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
This is just an illustration of what we see over and over again I the Word of God that it is just that, The Word of God. You can absolutely and completely trust every word of it. Of course when I think about the 85% of the students in the seminary that said they didn’t believe that the Bible was without error I have a hard time actually believing that it had anything to do with honest investigation of the validity of the Word and much more to do with a desire to dismiss portions they personally found inconvenient. As it has been rightly said, “Men do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them.”
This is the place where the children have such an advantage over adults. I’ve never seen a child in a Good News Club debate the inspiration of the Bible, and I know that some would say that this is because the children don’t know enough to do it but I am more inclined to believe that it’s because God has entrusted to them a special measure of faith that we would all do well to learn from. All they have to have is someone to tell them about Jesus and almost always they will trust in Him and believe.
How would you like to be one of the people that God worked through to take that Good News into the public elementary schools? We have an amazing opportunity to take the inspired inerrant Word of God into the schools and all we need is your help to make it happen. Will you visit our website at www.nochildleftout.net that’s nochildleftout.net for more information.
God Bless and be sure to live our your faith today.