Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
The Path of the Cross
Over the past few years I have become increasingly more aware of the different ways that people present the Gospel. Some preach a twisted, perverted form of the Gospel which I have addressed in past blogs, but other present the true Gospel in partial form. (And there are several who present the True Gospel in complete form) What do I mean by this partial form? Well, this happens in several different ways and I am not condemning them. The potential problem is though that when we don't present the complete gospel then we can set the listeners up for failure. Now I know philosophically we can say that we should do the best we can and God will take care of the rest. I agree with that to a point, but the scriptures are very clear in the way that Jesus and the Apostles presented the Gospel...so why shouldn't we do the same?
There are two aspects biblically to the Gospel. There is the definition and the presentation. The definition is simply that Christ died for our sins and was buried. He rose again on the third day and then ascended to heaven to the Father's right Hand where he waits for his return. So we know that these are the obvious facts of the Gospel, but how do we make the Gospel real in our lives? How do we share with others how they can have their sins forgiven. Now make no mistake that there is a distinction between us having our sins forgiven and the Gospel. Having our sins forgiven is the outcome of making the Gospel real in our lives. It is like taking a pill and getting better. We don't go to the bottle and ask it to make us better, we simply submit and commit to the instructions by obeying them and trusting that it will work. If we don't submit and commit to the instructions and only take one out of the four pills we were supposed to take then the medicine doesn't work.
So how do we make it real in our lives and share it with others. The instructions are simple... submit and commit to Christ. We submit by taking up our cross which is true repentance and commit our trust and lives to him by crying out for him to save and lead us. The problem I see with some who do the partial approach is they speak about it as a temporary decision. In other words they get the definition right but they leave out certain facts in the presentation. They focus on the solution (Forgiveness of sins) rather than the instructions. Paul says that he preached the gospel by testifying about repentance toward God and Faith in Jesus Christ. This is a lifelong decision as Jesus said in Luke 14. This isn't about God forgiving our sins so that we can ensure our place in heaven... again that is the Blessed Reward. But we must focus just as intently on the understanding that we must repent and commit our lives to Jesus.
Now we know the Holy Spirit plays a large role in this. He convicts us of our sins and brings us into all truth. But that fact did not change the apostle's approach in the way they presented the Gospel. We know that the Holy Spirit is convicting everyone of their sin and God's Righteousness so that is why we must make sure to present the Gospel in the accurate way. We must make sure to tell the individual that we are sharing the "Medicine" with the correct instructions lest they don't understand and never get better. I continue to see people who claim to be Christians (and some of these may be) but their idea of the Christian life is what God is going to do for them. They continue in their life seeking out ways that God can bless them and give them their desires rather then making the cross of Christ real in their lives.
Here is the Path of the Cross: Be crucified with Christ and let Christ live in you. We have to understand that if someone does not make the Cross of Christ real in their lives than they have not been redeemed. This is not my thoughts but the Word of God. If I could give in to my compassion and have my way then I would say anybody that simply says a prayer will be redeemed. Anybody that says a certain set of words will be miraculously saved. But that is not God's way, it cheapens what Christ did for us. Christ came to save the sinners that they would have life, but they cannot have new life if they don't experience the death of the old. Yes, it is God's power that accomplishes all of this but do not let that become a false loophole for us to do nothing. Again The Medicine is there we simply need to heed the instructions. Yet, for those of us who are redeemed saints we must stop putting down the cross so we can go do what we want to do. We must realize that our desires...our ambitions are inconsequential to the Kingdom. This is something we all struggle with everyday, but it is in that struggle that we find success. It is in the denying of ourselves COMPLETELY that we have victory. It is in our failures that we have to go back and repent toward God. We continue picking up the cross and moving forward. A cross carrier will endure to the end. A cross carrier will examine his faith as to assure that they are doing right. Let your belief not be mistaken for faith. There are many who believe but do not have faith. There are many who know but will not take up their cross.
There are two aspects biblically to the Gospel. There is the definition and the presentation. The definition is simply that Christ died for our sins and was buried. He rose again on the third day and then ascended to heaven to the Father's right Hand where he waits for his return. So we know that these are the obvious facts of the Gospel, but how do we make the Gospel real in our lives? How do we share with others how they can have their sins forgiven. Now make no mistake that there is a distinction between us having our sins forgiven and the Gospel. Having our sins forgiven is the outcome of making the Gospel real in our lives. It is like taking a pill and getting better. We don't go to the bottle and ask it to make us better, we simply submit and commit to the instructions by obeying them and trusting that it will work. If we don't submit and commit to the instructions and only take one out of the four pills we were supposed to take then the medicine doesn't work.
So how do we make it real in our lives and share it with others. The instructions are simple... submit and commit to Christ. We submit by taking up our cross which is true repentance and commit our trust and lives to him by crying out for him to save and lead us. The problem I see with some who do the partial approach is they speak about it as a temporary decision. In other words they get the definition right but they leave out certain facts in the presentation. They focus on the solution (Forgiveness of sins) rather than the instructions. Paul says that he preached the gospel by testifying about repentance toward God and Faith in Jesus Christ. This is a lifelong decision as Jesus said in Luke 14. This isn't about God forgiving our sins so that we can ensure our place in heaven... again that is the Blessed Reward. But we must focus just as intently on the understanding that we must repent and commit our lives to Jesus.
Now we know the Holy Spirit plays a large role in this. He convicts us of our sins and brings us into all truth. But that fact did not change the apostle's approach in the way they presented the Gospel. We know that the Holy Spirit is convicting everyone of their sin and God's Righteousness so that is why we must make sure to present the Gospel in the accurate way. We must make sure to tell the individual that we are sharing the "Medicine" with the correct instructions lest they don't understand and never get better. I continue to see people who claim to be Christians (and some of these may be) but their idea of the Christian life is what God is going to do for them. They continue in their life seeking out ways that God can bless them and give them their desires rather then making the cross of Christ real in their lives.
Here is the Path of the Cross: Be crucified with Christ and let Christ live in you. We have to understand that if someone does not make the Cross of Christ real in their lives than they have not been redeemed. This is not my thoughts but the Word of God. If I could give in to my compassion and have my way then I would say anybody that simply says a prayer will be redeemed. Anybody that says a certain set of words will be miraculously saved. But that is not God's way, it cheapens what Christ did for us. Christ came to save the sinners that they would have life, but they cannot have new life if they don't experience the death of the old. Yes, it is God's power that accomplishes all of this but do not let that become a false loophole for us to do nothing. Again The Medicine is there we simply need to heed the instructions. Yet, for those of us who are redeemed saints we must stop putting down the cross so we can go do what we want to do. We must realize that our desires...our ambitions are inconsequential to the Kingdom. This is something we all struggle with everyday, but it is in that struggle that we find success. It is in the denying of ourselves COMPLETELY that we have victory. It is in our failures that we have to go back and repent toward God. We continue picking up the cross and moving forward. A cross carrier will endure to the end. A cross carrier will examine his faith as to assure that they are doing right. Let your belief not be mistaken for faith. There are many who believe but do not have faith. There are many who know but will not take up their cross.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Humility and Unity
In studying the book of Philippians we see Paul echo not only his previous writings but those desires of Jesus. He addresses this letter to all the saints in Philippi along with the Overseers and Deacons.
I want to address this first before going on because this tiny verse in the greeting establishes the tone of the entire book. Look at the city of Philippi at the time of the NT. In its prominent place some describe it as the gateway between Europe and Asia at this time in History. So at the very least we can compare it to Indianapolis or St. Louis. Although the population would have been less at this time in History you get the idea that it was a large city. It is said to have been 700 square miles. So as Paul is writing to the saints and elders in Philippi we have to understand there wasn't one big church building where all of the disciples met for worship. Remember that it was against the law to be a Christian because the Christian had to reject the Caesar as a god. Thereby as there were multiple overseers and deacons in a large city we can assume with confidence that there were several different meeting places for the different parts of the communities. We can also look at it's position geographically and Historically and understand this would have been a city of many mixed cultures and ethnic groups.
Now I set all of that up to say this that the rest of the letter will be based upon the fact that there are many disciples several different elders and "local church bodies". So Paul in the first chapter addresses them generally and updates them and encourages them in the Gospel.
However, in chapter two he begins to exhort them concerning humility and he uses Christ as an example of that. If Jesus was able to display the perfect example of humility than how much more should the disciples be humble. He then goes on to say the three fold purpose of this:
To work out their salvation
To be a pleasure to God
To be a much needed light in this world
Now in chapter 3 he begins to exhort them in what they should be focused on... The gospel. They should not be putting confidence in the flesh because they worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus! Then Paul enters into what I believe is our primary doctrine that should unite us as the humility of Christ is our attitude towards others... Seeking their good in love. Giving up things for Christ seeking to know him and his power more. Having a righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus and not of works of the law. Putting our past successes and failures behind us to press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
So to bring this to an applicable point we must be careful in our private lives and in our churches not to criticize others and condemn others for not believing exactly as we do in the doctrines that don't directly deal with faith in Christ for redemption which again I believe is summed up in the third chapter of Philippians. This darkens the very light that Paul is saying we need to shine to this world by being humble. We even more so need to be practicing this principle in the boundaries of our own local churches. If we can't practice humility, love, and unity with those that we meet with on a daily/weekly basis how can we ever expect to display it with our siblings in Christ that we don't meet with?
I was at a church recently where there was a very long prayer and other remarks condemning people who partake in contemporary worship in their churches. That comes from pride not humility. It comes from an attitude of self righteousness not the Love of Christ. If a church prefers traditional hymns and organs for their worship times then great... do it unto the Lord. But be careful that you don't desecrate your worship by your pride and make it a clanging cymbal in the ears of the Lord.
So love the brotherhood and fear God. For if Christ was able to humble himself in love than with awe and trembling I dare not want to be found lacking in humility and love.
I want to address this first before going on because this tiny verse in the greeting establishes the tone of the entire book. Look at the city of Philippi at the time of the NT. In its prominent place some describe it as the gateway between Europe and Asia at this time in History. So at the very least we can compare it to Indianapolis or St. Louis. Although the population would have been less at this time in History you get the idea that it was a large city. It is said to have been 700 square miles. So as Paul is writing to the saints and elders in Philippi we have to understand there wasn't one big church building where all of the disciples met for worship. Remember that it was against the law to be a Christian because the Christian had to reject the Caesar as a god. Thereby as there were multiple overseers and deacons in a large city we can assume with confidence that there were several different meeting places for the different parts of the communities. We can also look at it's position geographically and Historically and understand this would have been a city of many mixed cultures and ethnic groups.
Now I set all of that up to say this that the rest of the letter will be based upon the fact that there are many disciples several different elders and "local church bodies". So Paul in the first chapter addresses them generally and updates them and encourages them in the Gospel.
However, in chapter two he begins to exhort them concerning humility and he uses Christ as an example of that. If Jesus was able to display the perfect example of humility than how much more should the disciples be humble. He then goes on to say the three fold purpose of this:
To work out their salvation
To be a pleasure to God
To be a much needed light in this world
Now in chapter 3 he begins to exhort them in what they should be focused on... The gospel. They should not be putting confidence in the flesh because they worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus! Then Paul enters into what I believe is our primary doctrine that should unite us as the humility of Christ is our attitude towards others... Seeking their good in love. Giving up things for Christ seeking to know him and his power more. Having a righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus and not of works of the law. Putting our past successes and failures behind us to press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
So to bring this to an applicable point we must be careful in our private lives and in our churches not to criticize others and condemn others for not believing exactly as we do in the doctrines that don't directly deal with faith in Christ for redemption which again I believe is summed up in the third chapter of Philippians. This darkens the very light that Paul is saying we need to shine to this world by being humble. We even more so need to be practicing this principle in the boundaries of our own local churches. If we can't practice humility, love, and unity with those that we meet with on a daily/weekly basis how can we ever expect to display it with our siblings in Christ that we don't meet with?
I was at a church recently where there was a very long prayer and other remarks condemning people who partake in contemporary worship in their churches. That comes from pride not humility. It comes from an attitude of self righteousness not the Love of Christ. If a church prefers traditional hymns and organs for their worship times then great... do it unto the Lord. But be careful that you don't desecrate your worship by your pride and make it a clanging cymbal in the ears of the Lord.
So love the brotherhood and fear God. For if Christ was able to humble himself in love than with awe and trembling I dare not want to be found lacking in humility and love.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Gospel According to Disney
When you believe upon the Son
Makes no difference what you've done
Everything your heart desires
Will come to you
(To the tune of When you wish upon a Star)
This is the Gospel that most preach today. Now if you have been keeping up with my past blogs you are probably tired of me talking about this, but yet I keep hearing this same message over and over so I guess I need to keep addressing it to look at different aspects of it and understand what the message really is.
The message that keeps coming out whether from the small Baptist church to the non denominational Mega Church is usually this-
Simply ask God to forgive you your sins and believe in Jesus by saying this prayer.
People that is not the Gospel of the Bible. We have been sold an American Dream, Disney style Gospel that has lost it's redeeming power and leads people not to be reconciled to God but to have their own desires satisfied.
In fact no matter what church we go to it is a gamble whether they truly understand and present the gospel according to the Scriptures regardless of denominational association. The Gospel that is being preached is steeped in a magical fantasy. Recognize two principles (Your a sinner and Jesus died for those sins) and say a magic prayer and you will be saved and get to go to Heaven. Here is the problem with that idea. First of all its not magic, it is not a dream come true scenario. We are being taught that God does not want his children to suffer he wants you to be happy and taken care of. This is partially true...He does want good things for you but they come through suffering. I know when my kids do without and suffer that they are developing the long lost idea of Character. This will make them in the future have good things that I want for them. The same is true with God. As we suffer it makes us more like Christ and in the end we will inherit the Kingdom...A very good thing. Men are so earthly minded that we just want to be happy here and have our desires satisfied now. Paul said in Philippians those type of people are enemies of the Cross.
Understand the Gospel is that Jesus paid a price for our sin and He was raised from the dead to bring us righteousness and reconcile us to God. So Redemption comes at a price in fact we are told in 1 Corinthians that we were bought with a price, Romans 6 says that we have become slaves of God and righteousness. This is a principle that if you want to be saved and reconciled we give our lives to Jesus and in Colossians it says that Jesus hides our lives in Him. We are to be following Jesus and working out our salvation. This idea of simply believing in Jesus and not following Him out of the darkness is absolutely unbiblical. Yes, we will sin and mess up. The Gospel is not about being perfect for we are given the righteousness of Christ. However, we see the apostles constantly pleading with the christians to stay away from sin. Why? Because when we are in Sin we are not working out our salvation. Not only can sin be destructive to us personally, but it takes away our devotion to God. So if Jesus died to bring us out of sin how can we still live in it and claim to know Him.
So understanding that lets look again at this Disney Gospel. Forgiveness of Sins through believing in Jesus. I will admit this is very close to what is written in scripture in some verses and this is why we need to know the Bible completely. First of all Forgiveness of Sins should be repentance. Not a Worldly Sorrow but a Godly repentance that we despise our sin and who we are. Secondly, believing in Jesus we must understand what that is as well. Believing should read in most of these verses if translated properly as faith. But what is faith? It is commitment. You cannot have someone say they are bought with a price and are willing slaves of God and there not be any commitment involved. The new testament is a covenant between God and Man and in any covenant there is commitment. Now some might argue then that this doesn't display grace and we are totally depraved so how can we willingly commit to God?
I will address Grace first. Understand that Grace is the Salvation process not the desire to be saved. Jesus is Grace. His death on the Cross was Grace. His allowing us to receive him and follow him is grace. The reconciliation is Grace. It is all done by God through Christ not by us. This is Grace that God redeemed us by his son and his obedience on the Cross. It is like being aboard a prison ship as a prisoner and the prison ship is almost at Alcatraz but the Governor sends a boat up next to the prison ship and calls everyone to get off into the boat who wants to be free. "Now understand when you get on this boat there will be stormy seas and very little food and we can't bring you back to shore right away you will need to sail up to Alaska in order to get off the boat." So now there is cost involved. The boat is the way to freedom but there will be difficulties involved. So only a few prisoners decide to go, because it will be a very uncomfortable and perilous journey. But here is my point... the boat is Grace, and not our decision to get on the boat. The idea that Grace must be nice and comfortable and pleasing to our flesh is a false notion. Grace can be difficult but not as bad as the end result of death and Hell. We are so spoiled in our lives that if God offers us grace it means a completely free ride of fun and fortune. No, absolutely not! Grace was costly as it cost Jesus all that he could give so don't expect that it will be a carnival of pleasure for you. We will have joy and strength absolutely, but those are our munitions along the way. These are the spiritual supplies that keep us going given by Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
This brings me to my second point...If we are totally depraved how do we commit to God. Well, this is where the Holy Spirit and Word of God come in. They do their work and we often try to over analyze this point but it is simply some heed the call and trust Christ and others don't. They don't because of the cost involved of giving up their lives to Him, they don't because they are not genuinely repentant to the Creator. I will be the first to admit I don't understand why I repented and gave my life to Christ, but others don't. I don't get it, but the fact is I did. The Fact is that with the help of the Spirit and Scripture I saw the light of Jesus and followed it. But it was a committed trust in Christ and not simply a magic prayer. If I hadn't then you wouldn't have to be reading this long tedious blog right now.
So how do we suffer? How do we know we are committed? I can't give you a detailed answer, but the Bible tells us to examine our faith. Suffering I believe can be comparative and personal. In other words how you may suffer may be completely different than how I suffer. How do you know you are committed? Are you bearing fruit? Are you giving up things for Christ? That is commitment. If your not and you are living in Sin whether it be a wrong lifestyle or the lack of doing good then you are probably not committed and following Christ. But this is not something that I can tell you. This is something you must figure out for yourself by going to God and seeking Him.
So this tune seems more apropos:
You must trust upon the Son
Makes no difference what you've done
Turn from all your evil ways
and Follow Him
Makes no difference what you've done
Everything your heart desires
Will come to you
(To the tune of When you wish upon a Star)
This is the Gospel that most preach today. Now if you have been keeping up with my past blogs you are probably tired of me talking about this, but yet I keep hearing this same message over and over so I guess I need to keep addressing it to look at different aspects of it and understand what the message really is.
The message that keeps coming out whether from the small Baptist church to the non denominational Mega Church is usually this-
Simply ask God to forgive you your sins and believe in Jesus by saying this prayer.
People that is not the Gospel of the Bible. We have been sold an American Dream, Disney style Gospel that has lost it's redeeming power and leads people not to be reconciled to God but to have their own desires satisfied.
In fact no matter what church we go to it is a gamble whether they truly understand and present the gospel according to the Scriptures regardless of denominational association. The Gospel that is being preached is steeped in a magical fantasy. Recognize two principles (Your a sinner and Jesus died for those sins) and say a magic prayer and you will be saved and get to go to Heaven. Here is the problem with that idea. First of all its not magic, it is not a dream come true scenario. We are being taught that God does not want his children to suffer he wants you to be happy and taken care of. This is partially true...He does want good things for you but they come through suffering. I know when my kids do without and suffer that they are developing the long lost idea of Character. This will make them in the future have good things that I want for them. The same is true with God. As we suffer it makes us more like Christ and in the end we will inherit the Kingdom...A very good thing. Men are so earthly minded that we just want to be happy here and have our desires satisfied now. Paul said in Philippians those type of people are enemies of the Cross.
Understand the Gospel is that Jesus paid a price for our sin and He was raised from the dead to bring us righteousness and reconcile us to God. So Redemption comes at a price in fact we are told in 1 Corinthians that we were bought with a price, Romans 6 says that we have become slaves of God and righteousness. This is a principle that if you want to be saved and reconciled we give our lives to Jesus and in Colossians it says that Jesus hides our lives in Him. We are to be following Jesus and working out our salvation. This idea of simply believing in Jesus and not following Him out of the darkness is absolutely unbiblical. Yes, we will sin and mess up. The Gospel is not about being perfect for we are given the righteousness of Christ. However, we see the apostles constantly pleading with the christians to stay away from sin. Why? Because when we are in Sin we are not working out our salvation. Not only can sin be destructive to us personally, but it takes away our devotion to God. So if Jesus died to bring us out of sin how can we still live in it and claim to know Him.
So understanding that lets look again at this Disney Gospel. Forgiveness of Sins through believing in Jesus. I will admit this is very close to what is written in scripture in some verses and this is why we need to know the Bible completely. First of all Forgiveness of Sins should be repentance. Not a Worldly Sorrow but a Godly repentance that we despise our sin and who we are. Secondly, believing in Jesus we must understand what that is as well. Believing should read in most of these verses if translated properly as faith. But what is faith? It is commitment. You cannot have someone say they are bought with a price and are willing slaves of God and there not be any commitment involved. The new testament is a covenant between God and Man and in any covenant there is commitment. Now some might argue then that this doesn't display grace and we are totally depraved so how can we willingly commit to God?
I will address Grace first. Understand that Grace is the Salvation process not the desire to be saved. Jesus is Grace. His death on the Cross was Grace. His allowing us to receive him and follow him is grace. The reconciliation is Grace. It is all done by God through Christ not by us. This is Grace that God redeemed us by his son and his obedience on the Cross. It is like being aboard a prison ship as a prisoner and the prison ship is almost at Alcatraz but the Governor sends a boat up next to the prison ship and calls everyone to get off into the boat who wants to be free. "Now understand when you get on this boat there will be stormy seas and very little food and we can't bring you back to shore right away you will need to sail up to Alaska in order to get off the boat." So now there is cost involved. The boat is the way to freedom but there will be difficulties involved. So only a few prisoners decide to go, because it will be a very uncomfortable and perilous journey. But here is my point... the boat is Grace, and not our decision to get on the boat. The idea that Grace must be nice and comfortable and pleasing to our flesh is a false notion. Grace can be difficult but not as bad as the end result of death and Hell. We are so spoiled in our lives that if God offers us grace it means a completely free ride of fun and fortune. No, absolutely not! Grace was costly as it cost Jesus all that he could give so don't expect that it will be a carnival of pleasure for you. We will have joy and strength absolutely, but those are our munitions along the way. These are the spiritual supplies that keep us going given by Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
This brings me to my second point...If we are totally depraved how do we commit to God. Well, this is where the Holy Spirit and Word of God come in. They do their work and we often try to over analyze this point but it is simply some heed the call and trust Christ and others don't. They don't because of the cost involved of giving up their lives to Him, they don't because they are not genuinely repentant to the Creator. I will be the first to admit I don't understand why I repented and gave my life to Christ, but others don't. I don't get it, but the fact is I did. The Fact is that with the help of the Spirit and Scripture I saw the light of Jesus and followed it. But it was a committed trust in Christ and not simply a magic prayer. If I hadn't then you wouldn't have to be reading this long tedious blog right now.
So how do we suffer? How do we know we are committed? I can't give you a detailed answer, but the Bible tells us to examine our faith. Suffering I believe can be comparative and personal. In other words how you may suffer may be completely different than how I suffer. How do you know you are committed? Are you bearing fruit? Are you giving up things for Christ? That is commitment. If your not and you are living in Sin whether it be a wrong lifestyle or the lack of doing good then you are probably not committed and following Christ. But this is not something that I can tell you. This is something you must figure out for yourself by going to God and seeking Him.
So this tune seems more apropos:
You must trust upon the Son
Makes no difference what you've done
Turn from all your evil ways
and Follow Him
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Star Trek: The Unholy Spirit of Evolution
Space: The Final Frontier- These are the voyages of FICTIONAL PEOPLE.
It occurred to me as I am doing a study on creation vs. evolution for a short video we are going to make to use as a tool in evangelism that as we have the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to show us the truth the atheists also have theirs. We see the sacred scriptures of evolution are written down in their text books and published findings in Scientific Journals/ Published books, and documentaries. But what really drives this belief for many people? What really inspires people to take up these unfounded and in some cases far fetched theories that the Anti-God culture tend to thrive on?
I believe this has come in the way of science fiction media. Whether it be TV shows, movies, or graphic novels the Sci-Fi Genre has perpetuated this belief far greater than any simple factual book. Now I am not saying that watching an episode of Star Trek or other Sci-Fi show is evil, but we have to look at what is really behind peoples beliefs. I was once speaking with someone about God and they started bringing up a Sci-Fi movie on why they believe what they believe about God. Now we as Christians would think this is crazy as these are fictional entertainment pieces created by a person, but we see how when people want to deny God and seek after their own way they will grasp at anything to validate their belief system. So as we look at why when scientific evidence is causing several atheistic scientists to turn toward Intelligent Design how then does the uneducated masses continue to grasp hold of this foolish and extremely warped belief system? The other reason for this, I believe, is that the Sci-Fi Genre feeds the flesh as well. It allows people to become excited through the adventurous stories and in many cases seem to give the person watching meaning to their otherwise menial and boring existence.
Add to this what almost every movie or tv show does in the area of delivering up for us absolute fantastical visions of what life should be like such as great looking people always looking great. Characters that are usually exciting and successful no matter their approach. If a character puts forth a theory or a statement they are almost always proven right by the end of the show. This displays that mankind is knowledgable and they can solve anything. Now think about that...Especially in the area of Science. The Media puts forth the idea that Man because of his knowledge can accomplish anything with ease. So in most cases of Science you will see it based in Evolutionary Science especially in the case of Sci-Fi shows and then they are proven right. Now some like us would say its just a show and dismiss it completely because our roots of truth are in the Bible, but those who don't read the Bible often or are unsaved are bombarded with this philosophy. Many continue to grow to make these shows a lifestyle and attend conventions. They see it as harmless fun, but it continues to feed their idolatrous hearts. They are running towards their gods.
So what can we do about it? Not much unfortunately. But know and be prepared because the next person you share the gospel with that cites why they don't believe in a God you might be able to direct the conversation in a way that confronts that their belief in evolution doesn't come from their in depth study of the sciences, but from their being fed philosophy through their entertainment programs and their desire to simply not believe in a God.
It occurred to me as I am doing a study on creation vs. evolution for a short video we are going to make to use as a tool in evangelism that as we have the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit to show us the truth the atheists also have theirs. We see the sacred scriptures of evolution are written down in their text books and published findings in Scientific Journals/ Published books, and documentaries. But what really drives this belief for many people? What really inspires people to take up these unfounded and in some cases far fetched theories that the Anti-God culture tend to thrive on?
I believe this has come in the way of science fiction media. Whether it be TV shows, movies, or graphic novels the Sci-Fi Genre has perpetuated this belief far greater than any simple factual book. Now I am not saying that watching an episode of Star Trek or other Sci-Fi show is evil, but we have to look at what is really behind peoples beliefs. I was once speaking with someone about God and they started bringing up a Sci-Fi movie on why they believe what they believe about God. Now we as Christians would think this is crazy as these are fictional entertainment pieces created by a person, but we see how when people want to deny God and seek after their own way they will grasp at anything to validate their belief system. So as we look at why when scientific evidence is causing several atheistic scientists to turn toward Intelligent Design how then does the uneducated masses continue to grasp hold of this foolish and extremely warped belief system? The other reason for this, I believe, is that the Sci-Fi Genre feeds the flesh as well. It allows people to become excited through the adventurous stories and in many cases seem to give the person watching meaning to their otherwise menial and boring existence.
Add to this what almost every movie or tv show does in the area of delivering up for us absolute fantastical visions of what life should be like such as great looking people always looking great. Characters that are usually exciting and successful no matter their approach. If a character puts forth a theory or a statement they are almost always proven right by the end of the show. This displays that mankind is knowledgable and they can solve anything. Now think about that...Especially in the area of Science. The Media puts forth the idea that Man because of his knowledge can accomplish anything with ease. So in most cases of Science you will see it based in Evolutionary Science especially in the case of Sci-Fi shows and then they are proven right. Now some like us would say its just a show and dismiss it completely because our roots of truth are in the Bible, but those who don't read the Bible often or are unsaved are bombarded with this philosophy. Many continue to grow to make these shows a lifestyle and attend conventions. They see it as harmless fun, but it continues to feed their idolatrous hearts. They are running towards their gods.
So what can we do about it? Not much unfortunately. But know and be prepared because the next person you share the gospel with that cites why they don't believe in a God you might be able to direct the conversation in a way that confronts that their belief in evolution doesn't come from their in depth study of the sciences, but from their being fed philosophy through their entertainment programs and their desire to simply not believe in a God.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
A Disciple Disappointed
Today we went to yet another church on a search for a good church in the South Jersey area. I continue to find pastors in this area to be rude and a bit on the arrogant side. Now some may attribute this to the fact that we are in New Jersey and that is the way people here are, but I believe that we as "Christians" should be above that especially the pastors. Although the rudeness does not portray the love of Christ, my main concern is the message that I keep hearing.
We were sitting in a certain church this morning who by their statement of faith I would think they would be a good church. However, the Pastors message today made it hard for me to classify this as a good church. We sat and listened to a message on end time events and even though I disagree with some of the pastors interpretations of those events that is not at all where my problem came with the message. In prophecy we must allow room for different interpretations within reason and have no problem listening to others thoughts and theories. This pastor today even though the topic was on end time events the message came across clearly as God does not want His people to suffer. Really? Tell that to the Jews...Tell that to the Early Church...Tell that to His only begotten Son. So even though the Scriptures are clear that we are to suffer preachers today have no problem departing from scripture to exclaim wonderful flesh tingling comments like God doesn't want His children to suffer. Then to add to this he took a minute to call anyone who doesn't agree with his view of the end times as absurd and then put forth another untruth to try to intimidate anyone into believing something different. I have to admit I almost stood up and left at that point, not because the comment offended me personally but that kind of teaching is not glorifying to the Lord. But to top it all off he gave an invitation that was probably the most confusing that I have ever heard. Now I don't want to judge this church as not portraying the gospel correctly, because this was only the second time I had been and so my experience there may have been a fluke. However, the call to Christ came out from one sentence being filled with cheap grace and easy-beliefism to the next being someone who gives their life to Christ, which is the Gospel. So again they may take someone aside and give them the more accurate gospel, but after the other things I heard in the message I would not bet on it. Angie noted to me in the car that she was not a fan of his either due to some other things that he had said.
Here is my Disappointment... I keep running into this kind of ministry. I cannot avoid pastors and churches praising the name of Jesus only to insult him by not presenting the true Gospel. Only to insult him by not showing love. Only to insult him by changing scripture. Where does it end? I am a very tolerant person when it comes to those who have different views of what I call our secondary doctrines. I know that no matter what church I go to that they are going to believe something slightly different than me in any one of those subjects. But how is it that I keep running into what some could correlate as an apostate church. How is it that I am hard pressed to find a church that will simply preach the truth.
We were in Lancaster for a few days before we came to New Jersey and we went to a Bible Church in that area. Now that is not where we are called to minister, but it seemed to be a great church. They preached the clear true gospel. They had great teaching by the pastor and it seemed to be a church that truly exemplified love and unity. But I am disappointed because this seems to be such a rarity today. It seems to be that I cannot find a true church (although for any that might be reading this, yes, there are several in the central Indiana area, but not in many of the places that we are looking to minister) and I don't say that to be mean or hateful. It just boggles my mind that this is the majority of churches today. I mean I guess why bother being a christian if you aren't going to be the real thing. Why bother going to church when you don't want to give all for Christ. I see now where in II Corinthians 11 Paul warns of others coming and preaching a different Jesus. So people get to continue living how they want, but get a free ticket to heaven. If we want to participate in the resurrection like Jesus than we must first die like Jesus.
Trust me ( I say this not to boast, but out of a plea for sanity) I could be having the time of my life right now. I could be doing things that many would consider to be amazingly fun and exciting, but I am not. Why? Because I follow Jesus. Because I know that if I am to be like him than I must live like him. And If I am to live like him I must daily die like him. Don't think that the only death Christ experienced was the one on the Cross. Yes, that is the one that paid for our sins, but he died daily to self far more than we can understand. He could have annihilated the pharisees when their arrogance came against him, but he didn't. He could have lived in a palace and had people serving him right or left, but he didn't. No, he served, he sacrificed, he died daily.
So what does this mean for us? It means we keep on the journey to serve. It means we don't let the Devil use the false teachers and the rude pastors to get us down. Joseph was in prison for years and a slave before that. But he endured and God blessed him. Paul endured many things and God blessed him. So we must endure, we must all endure not only the hardships, but the attacks on the Gospel. To me I would rather be beaten and lain up for days then to hear someone preach the Gospel in a twisted way. It makes me sick to my stomach and weary in my soul, but the Lord brings me my strength. He lifts me up, because he is the true Gospel.
We were sitting in a certain church this morning who by their statement of faith I would think they would be a good church. However, the Pastors message today made it hard for me to classify this as a good church. We sat and listened to a message on end time events and even though I disagree with some of the pastors interpretations of those events that is not at all where my problem came with the message. In prophecy we must allow room for different interpretations within reason and have no problem listening to others thoughts and theories. This pastor today even though the topic was on end time events the message came across clearly as God does not want His people to suffer. Really? Tell that to the Jews...Tell that to the Early Church...Tell that to His only begotten Son. So even though the Scriptures are clear that we are to suffer preachers today have no problem departing from scripture to exclaim wonderful flesh tingling comments like God doesn't want His children to suffer. Then to add to this he took a minute to call anyone who doesn't agree with his view of the end times as absurd and then put forth another untruth to try to intimidate anyone into believing something different. I have to admit I almost stood up and left at that point, not because the comment offended me personally but that kind of teaching is not glorifying to the Lord. But to top it all off he gave an invitation that was probably the most confusing that I have ever heard. Now I don't want to judge this church as not portraying the gospel correctly, because this was only the second time I had been and so my experience there may have been a fluke. However, the call to Christ came out from one sentence being filled with cheap grace and easy-beliefism to the next being someone who gives their life to Christ, which is the Gospel. So again they may take someone aside and give them the more accurate gospel, but after the other things I heard in the message I would not bet on it. Angie noted to me in the car that she was not a fan of his either due to some other things that he had said.
Here is my Disappointment... I keep running into this kind of ministry. I cannot avoid pastors and churches praising the name of Jesus only to insult him by not presenting the true Gospel. Only to insult him by not showing love. Only to insult him by changing scripture. Where does it end? I am a very tolerant person when it comes to those who have different views of what I call our secondary doctrines. I know that no matter what church I go to that they are going to believe something slightly different than me in any one of those subjects. But how is it that I keep running into what some could correlate as an apostate church. How is it that I am hard pressed to find a church that will simply preach the truth.
We were in Lancaster for a few days before we came to New Jersey and we went to a Bible Church in that area. Now that is not where we are called to minister, but it seemed to be a great church. They preached the clear true gospel. They had great teaching by the pastor and it seemed to be a church that truly exemplified love and unity. But I am disappointed because this seems to be such a rarity today. It seems to be that I cannot find a true church (although for any that might be reading this, yes, there are several in the central Indiana area, but not in many of the places that we are looking to minister) and I don't say that to be mean or hateful. It just boggles my mind that this is the majority of churches today. I mean I guess why bother being a christian if you aren't going to be the real thing. Why bother going to church when you don't want to give all for Christ. I see now where in II Corinthians 11 Paul warns of others coming and preaching a different Jesus. So people get to continue living how they want, but get a free ticket to heaven. If we want to participate in the resurrection like Jesus than we must first die like Jesus.
Trust me ( I say this not to boast, but out of a plea for sanity) I could be having the time of my life right now. I could be doing things that many would consider to be amazingly fun and exciting, but I am not. Why? Because I follow Jesus. Because I know that if I am to be like him than I must live like him. And If I am to live like him I must daily die like him. Don't think that the only death Christ experienced was the one on the Cross. Yes, that is the one that paid for our sins, but he died daily to self far more than we can understand. He could have annihilated the pharisees when their arrogance came against him, but he didn't. He could have lived in a palace and had people serving him right or left, but he didn't. No, he served, he sacrificed, he died daily.
So what does this mean for us? It means we keep on the journey to serve. It means we don't let the Devil use the false teachers and the rude pastors to get us down. Joseph was in prison for years and a slave before that. But he endured and God blessed him. Paul endured many things and God blessed him. So we must endure, we must all endure not only the hardships, but the attacks on the Gospel. To me I would rather be beaten and lain up for days then to hear someone preach the Gospel in a twisted way. It makes me sick to my stomach and weary in my soul, but the Lord brings me my strength. He lifts me up, because he is the true Gospel.
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