Don't Just Stand There

I have been thinking a lot about the 12 Apostles that Jesus called and the significance of the contribution they made to the world. I cannot help but wonder if they could begin to grasp the magnitude of what God was doing through their obedience. Not one of these men, by the standards that this world would use to measure, was either successful or even noteworthy. However, it was through their witness that you and I have heard the gospel proclamation and this because of their willingness to simply obey the Lord’s command to “Go.” They did nothing more than take what God had entrusted to them and use it to glorify Jesus Christ and untold millions have been saved because of their witness.


In Matthew 25:27 we can see the absolute opposite example in the parable of the talents as the Lord Jesus rebukes the “wicked and lazy slave” for squandering the opportunity that had been entrusted to him. There are at least three important lessons that all Christians should learn from this parable about our responsibility to “Be about our Father’s business.”

1. The decision to entrust the talent to the slave was made by the Master, not the slave.
As you read through the Matthew 25:14-30 passage you note that each one was given a different amount or variety of talents according to the way in which each slave had been created. In this is a reality of life that we must come to terms with; God is working out His plan, not mine. I am who I am with the skill, abilities and even shortcomings that I have because that was God’s choice in making me. Perhaps that does not sound like as sexy an explanation as we might care for but it is a fact. God made you who you are for His purposes and who am I to argue about that? In Romans 9:20 Paul writes, “… Who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the Molder, ‘Why did You make me like this?’”

I suppose that from time to time each of us wrestles with who we are and even wishes things were different, but what standard are we using to compare this observation to? How much of your life do you waste considering and even working to manipulate the circumstances in your life that are actually unalterable? What would your life be like if you would just accept you for who you are? By that I am not insinuating that you come to terms with your inner kleptomania (or whatever your “stuff” is) and merrily engage in shoplifting at every opportunity. No, the “Old man” is being taken off, keep going with that! I am talking about those things that you relentlessly beat yourself up over because you have manufactured an ideal of who you should have been rather than being who God made you. May I share with you that the very fact of your conception is God’s testimony to your worth? Therefore, it makes no difference what anyone may say, God has said in creating you that you are the object of His affection.

He has created you with certain skills, abilities, and even circumstances and these have been entrusted to you as if they were talents, what are you doing with them?

2. The decision to make use of the opportunity was made by the slave.

The reasons why people fail to act are endless. The Old Testament book of Proverbs speaks often about laziness, selfishness, greed, and foolishness being contributing factors but I cannot help but imagine that the overarching rationale has much more to do with failing to understand the significance of making the most of the talents that have been entrusted to you. Does anyone really go through life not caring that their moment of time spent here be of some value? Of course many of us neglect fanning the flame that God has put in each of us that seeks to be part and help “the cause” and at some point the fire dies out and the embers grow cold but none of us starts out that way.

The Master entrusted these three slaves with talents and He intended for them to use them not hide them away but to use them as they were intended. In Colossians 3:23-24 Paul encourages us that, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” It really makes no difference what the talents that you have been given are, you were not called to evaluate either the talent or the plan which God is working out but to take that which you have been made steward over and seek to glorify Jesus with it.

I wonder if we might not sometimes forget that the talents always belonged to the Master just as the very person of the slave also belonged to Him. Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 7:23, “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” The Master’s slaves had no right to neglect the gainful use of the talents to further the estate of the Master; however, they had been made stewards and as such were given the choice as to what they would do with the talents.

You have a decision to make as to what you will do with what has been entrusted.

3. There are consequences for failing to act.

In Colossians 3:25 Paul punctuates his remarks on the slaves responsibility by warning, “For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.” Unquestionable, God controls all; Scripture is very clear about that. Yet simultaneously, our actions have real and lasting consequences. To disregard this truth is to abuse God’s Revelation of Himself.

You will suffer personal consequences for failing to act as we see illustrated in James 4:2b, “…You do not have because you do not ask.” Specifically James is referring to prayer but the principle is universal, God has decided that oxygen is a requirement for life, and it will take 365 days for the earth to go around the sun, and He has also decided that your actions or lack thereof will produce results and consequences. If you fail to pray, you will find no eternal success in your efforts regardless of how well conceived your plans may be. If you choose to eat too much it is probably going to have negative effects on your health. Your failing to use your talents is going to bring about personal consequences both now and in the world not yet seen.

You, however, will not be the only one who suffers for the hiding away of your talents. In Acts 27 we find Paul onboard a ship making its way toward Italy, where he was to stand before Cesar and contrary to his wise council to stay in Fair Havens the ship’s captain sailed right into a devastating storm that would ultimately destroy the ship. In the midst of that storm all onboard began to despair and Paul encouraged them that they would live through this ordeal. However, as the ship neared Malta some of the sailors tried to flee in a lifeboat and Paul said to the centurion in verse 31, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved.” The actions, and by implication inaction, of these men and all of us for that matter have consequences.

The consequences of the men leaving the ship would have been death to the others, and the consequences of the lazy slave hiding the talent was a dishonoring of the Master and actually the illumination of what he really was; a lost sinner. There are also consequences for you choosing to hide the talent God has entrusted to you. Today, you can live out your faith by taking what God has entrusted to your care and using it to the fullest and in so doing, glorify your Master and benefit our world. This is what the disciples did and that is why you have heard about the Lord Jesus Christ, what might God do with your service?

Christmas Growth Spurt

It’s that time of year again when I am going through my annual growth spurt. My wife is a great cook and loves to bake sweeties and being the good husband that I am I refuse to insult her by allowing those treats to just sit there. The result is my annual Christmas growth spurt followed by eleven months of working to beat back those rogue pounds that seem to track me down each year like clockwork. Sometimes, growth just isn’t what you are looking for, however, in 2 Peter 1:10 we see that the “Christmas growth spurt” is just what we need.

Peter began in verse 4 talking about the fact that it has been granted to believers to actually be partakers of the divine nature which is to say that we are to be conformed to the image of Christ. Therefore, he continues in verse 5 by telling us that we should be diligent in seeking spiritual development and after listing out several qualities in a progressive order he essentially says in verse 9 that it is foolish for a believer not to seek this spiritual development. How important is this to you that you mature spiritually as God intends for you to? What would you point to over the last seven days that would serve as evidence of this? I would submit that within our culture here in the US there is an epidemic of anemic Christians going from one defeat to the next due almost exclusively to their neglect of their spiritual growth as they live in defiance of God’s clear commands that this be a priority.

By the time we get to verse 10 the commitment to spiritual growth is actually assumed by the Apostle as he encourages believers to be “diligent” in their pursuit of spiritual growth. In Proverbs 10:4 we learn that, “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” No matter whether you are talking about business dealings or spiritual development the same holds true; without a commitment to your development you will remain spiritually or physically poor.

Peter goes on to say that the thing that we are to be diligent about is that we are to “make certain” about our calling. Not to say that we cannot be sure of our salvation, no, making certain carries with it the idea of checking on or attending to spiritual issues. The Apostle Peter very matter-of-factly assumes that anyone who has come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ will have a hunger for the deeper things of God and as such the spiritual dimensions of the life of the believer will occupy a large segment of their thoughts and activity. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Paul talks about the fact that by the “worlds” standard, most who are called are of little prominence and that, so God may be glorified. However, this does not mean that we should allow ourselves to stay that way. We need to attend to developing spiritual muscle and as we do this our steps are made even surer. You see as you occupy your mind and time with the development of spirituality you close the door to the attacks of Satan as he is less and less able to gain a foothold in your life.

So what is it that you will do to be diligent about your spiritual growth? God bless and be sure that you go and live out your faith today.

The Beast Will Soon be Revealed

Undoubtedly, this title draws the mind to the images of Bible prophecy contained in the book of Revelation, but that is not my specialty; it’s just not where God has called me. I am a minister to children and much to my dismay this title does accurately convey the reality of the release of a hideous monster that I can see on the horizon. An attack on the boys and girls the likes of which the world has never known and it is actually coming from the hands of parents.
I suppose that few would argue the merits of pornography and I cannot imagine any sane parent responding to this vile cancer with anything but disgust at the thought of their child being exposed to it. You will need to do little research to discover that exposure to pornography is worse than putting a bag of cocaine in your son or daughter’s Christmas stocking with a note that cheerfully reads, “We hope you enjoy this, Love Dad and Mom.” Literally, the scourge of pornography is more toxic to the brain of a child, chemically, emotionally, and psychologically than physically using drugs. It physically alters the mind in ways that, in large measure are irreversible and leaves boys and girls lifelong victims of its carnage.

In 1 Corinthians 6:18 God tells us to “Flee” from sexual sins. That is to say that we are not to question, or discusses, or come up with a strategy for dealing with it; no, we are to FLEE! Get away and don’t look back. Why? Because there is something overpowering about the misappropriation of the gift of sexual intimacy that God has given to us. Certainly as adults we are well aware of this and are responsibly taking steps personally to stay away but what about our children?

What I am about to say is not going to be popular but quite frankly, I don’t care. I am not a purveyor of man’s wisdom, or a trader in physiological “secrets,” nor am I interested in following the ideas of this world. I am a minister of the gospel and am convinced that we, as followers of Christ should conduct ourselves in a way that is consistent with His Word and I cannot see any wisdom whatsoever in allowing children access to pornography through cellular phones. As I look around church on Sunday morning before the service starts there is a sea of young people engrossed in the cyber-world while completely disengaged in the real world. Within the scope of this post I will not treat that subject in its entirety as my goal in today’s writing is to ask parents to consider what they are doing in allowing children such free access to this hideous monster.

Our culture has certainly changed and in this regard it is not for the better. Studies show that with the almost unrestricted access to this plague their minds are being daily influenced to believe that pornography is a normal and natural part of life. So much so that in a recent conversation with a youth pastor, he shared that many of today’s youth have been so prejudiced by the deviant offerings of pornography that they no longer would consider sending sexually explicit pictures of themselves to friends as being pornography.

This is not a minor issue! Please consider this as I am convinced that just on the horizon we have a generation of children who are growing up believing that this is an ordinary part of the human existence, and they will soon be adults free of any parental restraint and the horrific results of our mistake will be apparent, overwhelming, and irreversible. I know that the culture will tell you that your children need these gadgets and devices but I implore you to stop and ask, why? Consider Paul’s words concerning sexually immorality and your responsibility as a parent. You may rest assured that should you chose to protect your children you will be in the minority and your kids won’t like it but God has entrusted those precious little ones to you; won’t you lead them rather than letting the enemy of their soul do so?

Has Jesus Become a Cult Leader?

I have stood by and said nothing as long as I am willing. God has graciously given to each of us an amount of time over which we may steward and do as best as we know how and I will not stand idly by and say nothing while my brothers and sisters in Christ take part in reducing the glorious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to little more than a cult leader. I am compelled to speak and fully recognize that many will vehemently disagree.
Our country is in a mess, worse than at any time in history. In fact I am convinced that we have never even been near the trouble that we are in and there is no area that is not touched; politically, economically, socially, legally, and the list goes on. I know that none of us live in a vacuum and as such I am certain that you are well aware of everything that is going on and as such I will not take the time to detail the problems. In this time of crises many believers and perhaps even unbelievers are calling out to God and seeking help and to varying degrees I am sure that each of us understands the ramifications of the direction that we are heading and the gravity of the consequences for not turning back. My fear in this time of great upheaval is that we as the body of Christ are paying lip-service to God as our deliver yet at the same time we have actually given up on Him intervening in any meaningful way and have resolved that we must walk through these evil days alone and chart our own course.

Specifically, I am referring to the open and blatant willingness of Christians to promote a cult member as the leader of the United States of America. Considering God’s number one goal is to glorify Jesus Christ do you really think that He has sent a man that believes our Savior is the brother of Satan, nothing more than a man, and that while Jesus is perhaps some sort of god He is only one of many and if you behave yourself you can be a god as well with your own universe to manage. Sort of like your very own Chick-fil-A just bigger. Has God totally lost control and this just happens to be the best He can do?

I have a question; where along the way did we begin to think that our job was to just pick the lesser of two evils? It is not just in this presidential campaign, we do it everywhere; in movies, music, books, elected officials, and really every area of life. No longer do we measure by God’s standard but we have completely bought into this world’s ideas in every aspect of life. May I share with you that God has not given to any of us the responsibility to elect a president as each of us only gets one vote. Your job is simply to seek to honor God with that vote and there is no way endorsing, campaigning, supporting, or voting for the member of a cult does that?
I am well aware that many will see this and argue, “What about, protecting the unborn, what about stopping gay marriage, what about our economy, what about keeping the United States from becoming a socialist (or worse) nation?” I can assure you that if you will study your Bible you will find that God does not care nearly as much about those things as you do. Right now I am sure you are recovering from shock but it is a reality. I am not saying that God does not care about those things; what I am saying is that He cares first about glorifying Jesus Christ and as terrible as those things are, they are side issues when compared to this. Our goal should be to do what God would want done and that means looking for a presidential candidate that glorifies Him.

I am also aware that many are quick to add in their defense of this sort of action that, “We are looking for a president not a pastor.” May I with all due respect say that for a Christian, that is one of the most ridiculous statements you could make and it is again yet another illustration of just how biblically illiterate we are as a nation. In the body of Christ, a pastor is not the guy who is getting it right and living like God would desire while the rest of us run amuck. I do realize that this is the reality in many churches; however, this is not the intention God had in mind. In fact I would submit that anyone that is chosen for any leadership position regardless of whether it is in the church, a business, or government should be a committed follower of Christ first and foremost. I did not cook that up on my own either as you can look at many of the original State Constitutions and see this requirement.
Throughout our nation on every conceivable source of media, “Christian leaders” have surrendered their responsibility and bought into this demonic idea that “All we need is a little more time and we can win the lost.” I hate to point out the obvious but we (Christians as a whole not Jesus) are losing and most of it has to do with our unwillingness to just live by the Word of God. Read through 1 and 2 Kings and you will see that Israel was in exactly the same place we are in and they did the same thing we are doing, looking for human answers rather than just turning to God. “How do I live out my faith practically?” you may ask. Here’s how; trust God, look for a candidate that seeks to glorify God and vote for him, then forget about the results and get back out there and tell people about Jesus.
I am no profit and do not claim “A word from the Lord,” however, if we do not turn from this course I believe that Mitt Romney will be our next President. I also believe that everything he says he will do will be done as he is a good business man and I am sure he knows how to fix many of the problems. However, in doing so Mormonism will be normalized and in many ways assimilated into “Christianity” in the minds of most and it would take a miracle to weed it back out and ultimately that will doom people to hell as the masses will put their faith in a lie that does not have the power to save. They will hold to a form of godliness and it will ensure their destruction. I fear what another four years of Barrack Obama would mean to this nation as I do not believe this man is a Christian and I think his ideas will destroy the United States but at the same time I cannot in good conscience stand by and for the sake of my own benefit choose a temporary fix that will seal the fate of so many. If I have to decide between earthly persecution and temporary “happiness” I must take the former.

How to Find the "Right Church"

“Dad is looking for a church that he likes.” That was the comment made during a recent family devotional time that cut me to the core. Immediately, I began to work to correct the misunderstanding but the depth and gravity of the conversation that took place in which this comment was made was far too important for a “Shoot from the hip” answer. Therefore, I needed time to carefully consider my answer and the following is the result of that.

Recently, my family and I moved to Mississippi to accept a new position with the organization that I serve with and this was to say the least the biggest change in our family’s life, ever. Having lived in Florida for almost 20 years most of my life was there and it’s all my children have know, therefore, the change was major. My wife and I knew that this would be the case and did what we could to prepare to smooth out some of the rough waters that we were certain would soon come. One of the major things that we worked on was trying to learn as much as we could about the churches in the area prior to coming as finding a new church home would be a first order of business. However, having never done something like this before, looking for a church home in an area we know nothing about, I found that despite my efforts I was ill prepared and I made a bad decision. This coupled with the ensuing conversation prompted me to more carefully think through the question of finding the “Right Church.”
My I preface the following comments by saying that anyone who is looking for the perfect church will search in vain as it does not exist here on earth. People make up the local body of believers and while “The Church” is made up only of true followers of Jesus Christ and as such saved we have not yet been made perfect and that fact will soon make its grand entrance. May I also gently also suggest that many of the problems you will encounter have far more to do with you than others as we are all flawed. That fact is usually forgotten and easily ignored as the “warts” on your nose are far more obvious to me than the ones on my nose given the fact that I chose to spend the bulk of my time focusing on your problems while dismissing mine as “Beauty marks.” Therefore, with that in mind I would submit the for criteria for finding the “Right Church;” It honors God, They faithfully and unreservedly teach the Word of God, They are mission-minded, and You are able to connect with others. Before briefly addressing those points I will point out that any attempt to follow any process before bringing it to the Lord in prayer is destined to fail. Only the Holy Spirit can guide and protect and you must begin by seeking God to find the Church family that He will work through to help you grow.
The purpose of creation is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ! That fact must be firmly understood as it runs so very contrary to the contemporary mind, even within the Body of Christ. Any church that does not seek to honor and glorify the Lord Jesus is far outside the boundaries and purposes of the local church. In fact I would go so far as to submit that this is the root of all other points that I will make. Much to my dismay I find an ever-increasing number of people that pay lip-service to this idea but are wholly unwilling to put it into practice. A willingness to honor and glorify the Lord Jesus must be the earnest desire of any church that you would associate with. This means that in all matters that body and most specifically the leadership must hold firm to conducting the business of the church and dealing with situations that come before the church in a manner keeping with the revealed character of God. This means that often that church will find themselves in the increasingly frequent position of being at odds with not only the world but those within the family who have chosen the coward’s way rather than faithfully following the Lord.

What the church teaches about God and having a relationship with Him is found in one place only and that is the Bible. While we may learn a broad-spectrum of things about the fact of the existence of God through “General Revelation,” or that which may be commonly seen in nature all that we know of the offense of the sin-sickness and rebellion of man, the destiny of the lost, and the person and work of Christ we learn only from the inspired and inerrant Word of God. God’s Word is not a complete history of the world and it was not intended to answer every question that may occur to man. As much as men may be unwilling to admit it, there are things we simply do not understand about it as we do not have the requisite knowledge to comprehend all of its truths. For example, there are those that chose to disparage the Word by allowing that it may contain errors pointing to something such as a battlefield account of the number of troops engaged in the conflict in one passage that gives a certain number and in another passage there is a different number. Thus the case is made that there must be an error. These men are to timid to stand faithfully on the truth that the Word is correct and we obviously do not have all the information. Any “church” that backs away from the Word in any way should be avoided like the plague as this is what this type of flawed thinking is on our society in addition to the fact that it seeks to besmirch the very name of God.

Only cannibals are consumed by themselves and any church that is not mission-minded cannibalizes itself. The charge by our Lord is to make disciples, not see how large and extravagant we can make our physical plant. Of course we need a building to meet in and I am not in the crowd that advocates the need to meet outside under a tent as the singular way to honor the Lord. However, our purpose needs to be reaching our beyond our walls to the community, state, nation, and world and the “Right Church” is the one that has a strong desire to reach out beyond its borders to a lost and dying world and the willingness to put that into practice. Therefore you will find that the “Right Church” uses a substantial portion of its resources to reach the lost.
I have intentionally chosen to place the fourth point that, you are able to connect with others, in the last position. There is no doubt that this is important and there are good churches that for whatever reason one particular family just does not seem to fit in. It should not be that way but again I am talking about reality and if, even though you try, you cannot seem to connect with others then you may want to keep looking. However, depending on your personality and efforts and the personality of the people in the church this may take time and certainly should not be the driving factor but it is important as you need those relationships.

This, I would submit as being a good set of guidelines to follow in looking for the “Right Church.” It is not and is not intended to be a perfect system; it is only a guide to help you as you seek the “Right Church.”

Is He Worthy?

Leviticus 2:1-2 pictures the sacrifice willingly brought by the people as worship or rightly declaring the “worth-ship” of Him alone who is worthy. The job of the priests as it relates to the handling of these sacrifices was at least two-fold. First to intercede on behalf of the people before a holy God through the offering of sacrifices for sin which all culminated in the annual Sacrifice of Atonement made once a year and only by the High Priest. The second purpose was the presentation of offerings of worship and praise to the Lord. Certainly the crown jewel of creation, humanity, created in the very image of the eternal God could not resist the opportunity to declare the “worth-ship” of its explanation for existence. Therefore, God again in His mercy provided such a means so as to allow for the offering to be received. It is not that worship is necessarily an indispensable article of the Christian life so much as it is its foundation. To not worship brings to mind the contemptuous rebellion of the devil himself for at the heart of his intention was a refusal to declare truth in his refusing to venerate. Therefore, any that would repudiate worship be it through neglect, or dereliction, or self-centeredness are akin to the father of insurrection himself and no other excuse may be reasonably offered for committing so dastardly a crime so as to embezzle the very treasury of heaven by withholding worship. So great is the preeminence of worship that the inspired writer of Hebrews declares in 9:11 that, “Christ appeared as a high priest.” What is it that the priests lived to do but first to offer the sacrifice of atonement which Christ Himself did, setting aside the glories of heaven and taking upon Himself the form of a servant, offering His own body and even more laying His very life down upon the alter that He might once and for all make available the appeasement of the wrath of God and provide for the atonement of sin, Why; that we might live and not die the death eternal and that we might be rescued from the everlasting torment of hell. How is it then that we, the most blessed recipients of this wondrous gift not respond with frequent ejaculations of praise and worship to the great and merciful God? This brings us to the second purpose of the continual ministry of our Lord, that of being the High Priest at the great heavenly temple receiving the offerings of praise and worship which would undoubtedly be expected to be brought by the adoring beneficiaries of this grace. Certainly, only the busy hands of the Lord Himself could work quickly enough to receive the overabundance of worship. Perhaps even at times crying out as Moses did, “Enough, bring no more!” However, this is not the case is it? May I invite you to consider your own offering of praise and worship? I suppose each of us is equally guilty of boldly trotting into the pristine courts of heaven in boots muddied by the decadent soil of this world. Strolling past the Great High Priest as if He were little more than some sort of heavenly “doorman” to whom we may call upon as we might see fit; flip Him a coin or two of our version of “worship” and then brazenly charge the throne of the Almighty with only the objective of saddling Him once again with our mortal minded “To-Do” list. As if the Creator of all that is were reduced to nothing more than our yardman who lives not that He may be rightly glorified but simply to check-off our list of chores as quickly and might I add quietly as possible that we might go back to our leisure. How dare we! What evil poison has so afflicted me that I would so much as consider such a thing let alone commit the act? I am ashamed to even consider the offense that this is to God so may I merely entertain the thought of the horror that this must be to God’s holy angels. Oh how disgusted and embarrassed they must be to see this collection of dust and clay in whom the spirit of life has been breathed most lovingly by the Master Himself, and in His very image no less, deny their Lord His due. These whom we shall judge must gasp in disbelief at such an offense committed again and again. What, may I ask does this say about God when we fail to come into His presence with praise and thanksgiving? By this I do not mean what does this express or represent of His being for that has nothing to do with us. No, what I refer to is what does this say of my declaration of Him? Who do I say that He is when I do this? Have you nothing to bring? Are your hands so empty so as to come with naught? Are your mirrors free of inspiration for which you would offer praise? Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” He alone is worthy, what will you give Him today?

Am I a Mormon?

Other than a great sadness that I feel when I hear his name because of how effective he has been at leading thousands astray, I generally couldn’t care less about anything Joel Osteen has to say. However, today I read an article written after he was interviewed about Mormonism and was struck as I considered the larger implications of what he was saying as essentially he said the Mormons are Christian and then of course implicit in that is that Christians must be Mormons. Due to the abject spiritual poverty that has befallen this nation many if not most are routinely taken in by the hellish doctrines espoused by charlatans given a platform by which they may more effectively disseminate their perversion. In light of this may I say in no uncertain terms, Mormonism is not Christianity nor does it have any semblance of our Lord’s holy calling. Although the LDS organization talks about Jesus, they do not bow before the promised Messiah but have only pilfered His sacred name in violation of the third commandment and attached it to their pagan sex god that supposedly bandies about the universes making “children.” This abomination dares to sully the holiness of the Creator of the universe by saying that He is nothing more than a well behaved alien that has worked His way up the “celestial corporate ladder” such that He is CEO of this universe in which He wiles away the days engaging in sex as it fancies Him for the purpose of producing “spirit children.” The first of these is purported to have been Jesus with Lucifer not far behind and all of the rest of us soon followed. This is the same repackaged chicanery offered up by every cult that acknowledges Jesus; reduce Him down to our level so we can get at Him. I would submit that we (collectively) had our chance with Him as He in His great mercy came to take on Himself that which was not His that we might have the opportunity the receive His mercy. Therefore when you hear Mitt Romney talk about Jesus you can distinguish that it is not the Jesus that you may know. There is no other antidote for what has befallen our world but for you, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, than to know the Word of God for yourself. By this I do not mean knowing about it, oh there is plenty of talk about the Word but ignorance of it is rampant. If you are to stand for the truth then you must know it. May I encourage you to get you Bible and study to show yourself approved and be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies in you? If you have never trusted Christ as your Savior or are unsure of whether you will go to heaven when it is your turn, I will encourage you to read on. In the Bible we learn that …”all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). Sin is anything you think, say or do that breaks God’s laws. Things like lying or stealing or even having bad thoughts about someone are all sin and everyone has sinned. God has also said that there is a punishment for sin, “For the wages (or punishment) of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That means that some day when it’s your turn you will not be able to go to heaven with God but will be separated from God forever in a place of suffering called hell. God doesn’t want you to be punished for sin because He loves you so very much. The Bible says that “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). That means that He loves you and because of that love He did something very special for you. God sent His perfect Son Jesus to be born into this world. He lived here on earth and never once sinned. One day some men put nails in His hands and feet and hung Him on a cross to die. Jesus did this to take your punishment for sin and you can have your sins forgiven because the Bible says that without the giving of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. (Hebrews 9:22) The Bible says, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12 This means that you can have your sins forgiven. You need to admit to God that you have sinned and want to turn away from those sins. Believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that He died for your sins and rose again. Choose to receive Him as the Lord of your life. Right now you can simply talk to God and tell Him that this is your desire and you will be saved.

Are People Saved Who Never Heard the Gospel?

Recently I read an article by a man in a leadership position in a particular Christian organization in which he attempted to answer this question. Tragically, his response took what has become all too familiar as an alarmingly increasing number of supposed defenders of the faith have chosen to lay down arms and take what they feel is a, kinder and gentler approach. I suppose that like many in our world today uncomfortable with the forthrightness of God’s Word they seek to chip away and ignore the parts they find distasteful in a misguided and vain attempt to “Win people to Christ” without their knowing it. The effects of this strategy, which is actually antithetical to God’s clearly stated plan, are evident by the lukewarm “Churchianity” that has substituted the truth of God for a lie. In light of this pervasive slide toward anything goes, may I share God’s perspective from His Word?

God is a God of wrath and judgment!
I recognize that this does not sit well with those convinced that the contemporary American Churches biggest problem lies in better “marketing,” but if we would humbly allow God to be God and quit trying to dress Him up so He will be “respectable” that we might take Him around our friends we would actually see sinners humble themselves before Him and know that He is also merciful. Here are a few examples:
1. You do not even get three chapters into the Bible before you see the judgment of God fall upon Adam that resulted in literally billions of deaths. Every person who has ever and will ever die testifies to the fact that God judges sin!
2. Only three chapters later and we see every person on the planet killed with the exception of eight and realistically according to 2 Peter 2:5 and Hebrews 11:7 the others got to go along because of Noah’s righteousness. So one guy got saved and seven people get to ride his coattails, everyone else dies.
3. In 1 Samuel 15:3 God said through the prophet Samuel, “Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey."(NASB) God was so serious about judging the Alalekites that when Saul failed to kill everything he lost the kingdom and it was given to David.

This could go on and on; however, I trust that most people are familiar with this from the Old Testament. On the heels of this argument typically comes the rebuttal that those passages are from the Old Testament and we now have the New Testament and Jesus only taught love and forgiveness. To that I would submit that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, in addition to the fact that God doesn’t change Mal 3:6 “"For I, the LORD, do not change”(NASB); His Word doesn’t change Ps 119:89 “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.”(NASB); God never changes His standards of right and wrong Ps 119:138-144 “You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness And exceeding faithfulness. My zeal has consumed me, Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words. Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it. I am small and despised, Yet I do not forget Your precepts. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth. Trouble and anguish have come upon me, Yet Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever”(NASB).

Furthermore, I would add that in the first book of the New Testament alone Jesus Himself no less than 17 times talks about the wrath and judgment of God. (Matthew 5:22, 29-30; 7:22-23; 8:12; 10:15, 28; 12:36, 41-42; 13:40-42, 49-50; 16:26; 18:34; 22:7, 13; 23:33-36; 24:50-51). We are all familiar with the theme of Revelation as being the judgments of God poured out on the world. Is there any place in that book that we find that those who were never evangelized escape judgment? The New Testament is bookended with this idea of the wrath of God and as you look through the pages you clearly see that the subject is dealt with over and over as none of the writers seek to “soften” the reality. The wrath of God is a fearful thing and they work hard to get the point across because anyone who doesn’t specifically and individually put their trust in Christ alone will fall under this judgment.

The only way out is through Christ.

I will not belabor this point as I am directing my comments toward the Church and my hope is that there would be no question about this. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”JN 14:6 (NASB) There is no other way that Jesus taught and there is no other way that the Apostles taught. For example, in Acts 16:31 when asked by the Philippian jailer what he needed to do to be saved Paul said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (NASB) There is no other way and any insinuation that a person could be saved outside faith in Jesus Christ alone prior to death (“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” Heb 9:27 NSAB) is contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture.


What is it that God says?
Although there are others, I would like to submit one passage that unquestionable answers this issue and that is found in Romans 1. The theme of Romans could be summarized as being about the righteousness that comes from God through Jesus Christ. Paul opens the letter with a greeting in the first 17 verses and then in verse 18 he answers everyone’s question about what happens to anyone who has not trusted Christ as Savior when he writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” I really don’t know what more God could have said to make this any clearer. “wrath of God is revealed from heaven,” this is very clear as to what is coming, “wrath” and who it is from, “God.” That wrath is directed at “all” and Webster’s says of all: 1a : the whole amount, quantity, or extent of. b : as much as possible. 2: every member or individual component of. 3: the whole number or sum of. Then there’s the “ungodliness and unrighteousness,” that would be all who are not saved by “believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul then goes on for the rest of the chapter to address the issues that will undoubtedly be brought up by people. In verse 19 we see what we already know, everyone already knows all about God because “God has shown it to them.” He has shown everyone “His invisible attributes” which are “His eternal power and divine nature” as we see explained in verse 20 meaning that there is no person who has their mental faculties that doesn’t know that there is a God and that He is all powerful. Why did He do this? Paul goes on in 20 to say He did it so that everyone is “without excuse.” So those people that are in question, the ones who have never heard, they already know and if they would respond to the light that God has given to everyone He would have made sure that they got more; just as He did with Lydia, the Ethiopian eunuch, and Candice the Queen of the Ethiopians because, “For there is no partiality with God.”(Rom 2:11NASB) However, you can know that all those people we’re talking about are no different than the ones who have heard the good news and reject it because in verse 21 we see that “although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give Him thanks.” They disregard and disrespect Him no differently than anyone else and they will be judged just like everyone else who isn’t in Christ.

We may not like it, we may not agree with it but it is a clear fact that cannot be reasonably denied. This is why it is incumbent upon us as the Body of Christ to take seriously the command to go and tell people. This is why we are here, what will you do about it?

A Call to Dogmatism

“Words mean something.” I think the first time I began to cogently reflect on the need for dogmatism was the day I heard Kirby Anderson, host of the radio show Point of View, say those words. I do not remember the exact context of that occasion, perhaps it was during a discussion on the Bible or maybe the Constitution but whatever it was those words jumped out and caught my attention like the “Hot Doughnuts Now” sign at Krispy Kreme. It is not that I had not at least obliquely thought about this from time to time but it was one of those moments when a conglomeration of stray thoughts were suddenly rounded up into one corral. Yes, words do mean something.

I am fascinated at studying cultural shifts that have taken place throughout history and how those changes have opened the door to radically different thinking. For example, there is no doubt that the life and work of Christ is unquestionably the most significant event in history to bring about a paradigm shift in human understanding. When Jesus walked out of that borrowed grave about 2,000 years ago, everything we collectively though was turned upside down and inside out and the way that we look at everything has changed because of it. There are, however, other things, all be they substantially less important, yet necessary to bring us to the point we are now. For example Alexander’s conquering of the known world, the bubonic plague, the invention of the printing press, and the list could go on. With each of these things people saw the world very differently after the experience and in some cases it was for the better and in others perhaps not so much. Another of those shifts in thinking that was certainly momentous at its time but has also grown in its impact through the years is Darwin’s fable of evolution. For so many this tale became a watershed moment when random hopes of there not being a Creator to whom they will answer were collectively brought together in one, albeit silly argument, but an argument nonetheless. Of course Charlie was not the first to postulate such fantasy, but he has become the poster-boy and his words mean something.

Tragically, what his words have meant to mankind continue to be devastating as his story about a mythical world that just magically appeared with mountains and oceans and 401k plans for all the monkeys to enjoy for a small number of days until they again disappear, has created an avalanche that is eroding the very fabric of humanity at an increasingly alarming rate. In this grinding down of civilization one of the casualties has been dogmatism and I believe we would do well to vigorously push back against those who would have us cast aside all axioms into a sea of relativity. Most recently I have noticed a trend toward ambiguity, in that many are careful to state their positions in such a way that perhaps a close friend to the speaker may know exactly what they are saying but to the casual observer there is tremendous latitude for interpretation. Why are we doing that? Why are we continually choosing through our words and actions to pretend that there is so much “middle ground”, so much “gray area?” With this I am most concerned with the Churches willingness to even embrace this wicked ideology of wishy-washiness that is the offspring of Darwin’s misguided notions.

We, as those entrusted to be the stewards of this time must in the name of Christ push back against this tide of the comparative. All roads do not lead to God and He is abundantly clear in His Word and we should be as well. We do no one any favors when we sheepishly refuse to say what we know to be correct. There is a way that seems right to a man but the end leads to death and to fail to be dogmatic is akin to a fireman unwilling to go into a burning building to get people out in the middle of the night for fear that they are sleeping and he does not want to wake them up. In the end it would be better for a Christian without the courage of his convictions to attempt to conceal his belief so as to not water down the gospel through his silence.