Christian Thots At A Glance

Occupational Search - A Biblical View

2006-04-09T14:40:00.000-05:00

Occupational Search Help Using A Biblical View

An Edited Paper By Naomi (my 15 yr old Daughter)

Does the Bible have anything to say and guide us, I’m fifteen, in our search for our occupation in life? You bet it does! God cares immensly about us and He equips us with talents and gifts to labor for our good and for His Glory. So let’s take a look at what I discovered concerning how one needs to understand the teaching of the Bible while researching what their occupational labor will be.

“God created men as a two part being. There is an immaterial part of man and a physical aspect of man. Man has a physical body and a mind. Men, created as a thinking being, are to think, and plan and establish projects. The Lord Jesus used the example of using the mind in the teaching that He provided in the need of counting the cost (planning / thinking ) before building a tower "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? (Lk.14:28)" Once planned men are then to meet those goals through labor. To move things, to clean, to build, etc. is to stretch the muscles using the body. Man was created with muscles and the ability to engage the body in planned labour.

God has given men certain competiencies to fit

the calling God has for each person

There is an inter-relational order between the different types of labor- mental and physical.. Some men and women work and labor intently with their minds in their vocation. In this type of labor there are the lawyers, teachers, engineers, pastors, corporate leaders, etc. Other men and women labor intently with their hands, backs and minds in doing the practical work of building things as well as carrying forth services that are needed by our society. They are the builders, nurses, mechanics, cooks, policemen, etc. All types of people are needed in our society to build and serve the societial infrastructure. While some work with their hands and back with chemicals, wood, paper, computers, etc. they are also called to work with people that work more with their minds teaching, managing, writing, planning, etc.and vise versa. One type of labor is not better than the other. We all are obligated and responsible, being given the ability and responsibility to work together with people with all types and variety of competiencies. Both are equally important in this world for society and for the good of mankind to build the proper social infrastructure. Each persons competiencies and gifts are given by God for the common good of all mankind, the advancement of the kingdom of God and for the glory of God.

The Gifts and Call of God in Your Work

God has given men certain competiencies to fit the calling or callings God has for each person. Men are to work using those gifts and ablities which God has gifted him or her. We live in a society wherein we think we all have the rights and ability to go to college, take whaever course of study we desire, struggle through, graduate and then work at that job for which we desire even though we barely passed the final exam. It is true that we are all created equal but we do not have the same abilities. Maybe, just maybe, we are over extended from our God given abilities. You need to understand that not all people have the same abilities. Some people do not see well. Therefore for them to take a job as a reader, test grader, newspaper journalist / editor would be out of their God given providential abilities. The gifts of God in Romans 12, 1 Peter, and 1 Corinthians are gifts based upon the abilities God is pleased to give the believers. So it is with mankind in creation in general. All non-inhibited, non-handicapped people may be creative in their abilities God has given them, but not all of them can be carpenters, lawyers, doctors, business men. Not all can be office managers, drafters, contract negotiators, etc. Your abilities are a gift from God. You need to decern your abilities and seek those as avenues of study and labor. For you to try to be an auto mechanic, even if you have a desire, without the ability to perform this task is to bring upon you undue burden, hard labor, dissatification in the work force and personal relationship problems. You may even find yourself eventually in the unemployment line. Without further comment and any other example I think most of us can identify with this in that many of us may have possibly have been there.

How does one evaluate to discover, develop, and use the gifts God has given to you as an individual? Romans 12:3-6 affords a basic biblical framework!

We need to understand that our abilities are from God. Not only are our gifts and abilities from him but also the labor that we are to perform is a calling of God in our lives. We know that God is soverign and that in His providence we are in a vocation from God. Therefore we are to work in that position which fits our competiencies and abilities to the glory of Christ our Savior knowing that this is God’s will for us at this time. Our life will be best regulated when the focus is to know, acknowledge and use those God given abilities. In putting our abilities to use we will not be unsettled about where to look for a place to fit in the work environment. We will not be running to and fro at every "I think I’d like to do this" fanciful whim. We will not be trying to do that which is really beyond our abilities. We will quickly become more stable in our work environment, with a more stabile work enviornment and we will be more stable in providing for the family. Also in this we will be able to do a better quality work for the glory of God, the advancement of the kingdom and the common good for our society.

How does one evaluate to discover, develop, and use the gifts God has given to you as an individual? Romans 12:3-6 affords a basic biblical framework. First, you need to evaluate soberly (clearly and factually) yourself in order to discover God’s gifts. An example: Do not think you are a scientist when you do not know nor have never worked in science field but only like science magazines. Secondly, you must recognize the function of the individual gifts among the many that there are. You must know that your abilities are different from others yet they are part of a whole. Not all have the same gifts or abilities. Thirdly, use the individual gift in practical applications which is goive you by the grace of God, by God’s help. In othere words, "How does that which I am able to do affect others in church and society?
.
Romans 12:3-6 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:4-5 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching.

Work was established in the garden prior tothe fall. In this "friendly environment" work was about being obedient to God who ordained it. Created men were to accomplish work because of the ordanince / decree of God. Therefore we can deduce from the time historical account of the established ordinance that money is not the satisification we get from work. The money we get from work is a benefit and not its ultimate purpose. The ultimate purpose in work is to please God by being obedient to Him working aqs unto Him. Work done in a God-honoring manner will bring joy and satisfaction as we live redeemed in Christ in the abundant life He gives.

The necessity in man is to be a creative and productive being.

The necessity in man is to be a creative and productive being. Man has been made to have dominion over the works of his hands. God has put all things under his feet. (Ps. 8:6 and Genesis chapters 1-2) This overall calling and necessity is seen in the carrying forth of such desires in the tasks and duties of: a. the science of discovery; b. building of things; c. Home furnishing and decorating; d. gardening; e. self-employment of many sorts; f. baking; g. hobbies; etc.”

You can know what God has called you to do. Practically think through what you have read and make application to yourself. Then take your competiencies and talents and put them to work. Remember God has provided what you need to be successful in a proper occupation!

Gifts! ... From God? (Part Two)

2006-04-08T21:37:00.000-05:00

Gifts! … From God? (Part Two)

Developing Our Children’s Gifts

Our children being in the Church, and God;s people, also have gifts given to them by God. As parents it is important that we parent properly in order fulfill our responsibility developing our children’s individual gifts. Parents are often heard saying, “My children are so different from one another it is hard to believe they are from the same family.” Why is that? Well simply put it is that God has given your children different gifts for His glory, the advancement of his kingdom and for the service of others.

As parents we must be cautious not to place more stress or bring more awareness on one child’s gifts over the others. Twins get this a lot. Remember mom considering it cute or clever when they did not give you your own personal identity but in all things they stressed the similarities between you and your brother or sister by even dressing you alike. Wise parents will the fact that each child, twin or not, is a unique person with his (or her) God-given gifts. As Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 12 each one has a unique combination of gifts, possessed by none of the other children or possibly no one else. There will be similarities but the gifts are uniquely given by the Holy Spirit Himself and those must be acknowledged and developed. These gifts are there to fill a place in the body of Christ that only he or she can. We parents must work to help them discover them and then to lead the children to strengthen, and emphasize those unique gifts.

All children, must be worked with individually by parents and Church leaders so that the do not just merely blend in merely as members of the family or the Church “crowd”. All children need time alone (and that often) with each parent in the family and with the elders in the Church so that they are able to contribute as their gifts develop no matter how brief that time may be. Those parents and church leaders that address their children only as a group, or in a group setting, are missing vital opportunities for blessings.

In every setting the child is placed in whether family , Church, School, etc. the children need some one on one in order that they have opportunity to be heard, loved, heard, and cared for as the unique gifted individuals that they truly are. We who are parents know that your child is at his best when you and he / she are together alone. Many times this is when one discovers, strengthens, and proper emphasis can be placed upon the unique gifts of the child.

Now children many times do not understand why someone may not have done something like they did. In this they may tend to complain about others. This must be countered by pointing out the variety of gifts distributed among believers. That there are differences of gifts cautions parents not to push for conformity of life styles when the variety in life style comes from the differing gifts of each child. To do so is to attempt to thwart the Spirit's plans and purposes for the children and the Church at large. Instead of complaints due to lack of “conformity” there must be a replaced communication and mindset with compliments must be replaced by complemental communication and action as they recognize the use of the gifts of th Holy Spirit in the life of the other children and people as they function in unity with the other members of the body (cf. I Cor. 12:14ff.).

Each child has their own gifts and abilities therefore they are to understand that they can have their own help and service (ministry) to people of all ages (I Corinthians 12:4-6). The children must learn that it is not proper to say "There is no place for me to help.” If the child does that then the parents, pastors, teachers must help them find their place so they can be happily productive.

In conclusion Christian parents please focus on helping your children develop, discover and use their God given gift (s). In this they will see their life in the Kingdom of God as satisfying, having meaning and productive.

Gifts! ...... From God

2006-04-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

Gifts! …… From God?

In the seventies and early eighties there was much discussion and focus upon recognizing the gift (s) which the Lord had given the Christian for the work in the kingdom. It seems in the 1990’s and since that the gifts of the Holy Spirit nor a call of God in the life of ministers and pastors is something rarely spoken about. I guess I can understand that, even though it is wrong, when ministers become “administrators and office managers” earning $100,000.00 plus a year. The work becomes a job and not a call at that point! As one missionary used to say, “ many men seem to be Mommy called and Daddy sent.”

Oh Lord, please lead your Church by men called of you, and may we each seek to discover, know and apply the gifts give to us by the blessed Holy Spirit for the advancement of your kingdom and in the service of others showing forth the sacrificial love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, It is important to distinguish the difference between the Fruit of the Spirit, from the Gifts of the Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is for all believers, “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” (Eph. 5:9) The fruit of the Spirit stands opposed to the works of the flesh building character in the Christian for “ … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23)

The gifts of the Spirit, while every Christian has at least one, are distributed by the Holy Spirit according to His sovereign will. ( 1 Cor. 12:3-11; Eph. 4:7; 1 Pt. 4:10) He gives the gifts to His people as he determines and in the measure He decides. WE can rest assured the gift (s) we have is to be used to glorify our Lord, help, serve and encourage the saints, and to advance the kingdom of out Lord!

1Co 12:3-11 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. (4) Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. (6) And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. (7) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. (8) For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; (9) To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; (10) To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: (11) But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

Eph 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

1Pe 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Several Biblical truths are presented in the above passages regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit:

1. Every Christian has a gift or gifts from the Holy Spirit to them - "To each one of us ..." (Ephesians 4:7; 1 Peter 4:10)- "each one has received a gift"

2. The gifts the Holy Spirit gives are different in that each is its own kind of gift. They each have different purposes. Therefore the gifts being applied in the kingdom of God has different results. - "Now there are varieties of gifts .. . varieties of ministries, and . . . varieties of effects" (I Corinthians 12:4-6) and "distributing to each one individually" (I Corinthians 12:11).

3. The gifts are given to each person in a measure poured out by the Holy Spirit - "according to the measure of Christ's gift" (Ephesians 4:7).

4. Individual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit for the benefit of all - "To each one is given... for the common good' (I Corinthians 12:7; cf. also vss. 14-31;! Peter 4:10)

5. All gifts given by the Holy Spirit are important and needed by all - I Corinthians 12:14-31

6. Gifts are distributed sovereignly by the Holy Spirit - "as He wills" (I Corinthians 12:1)

Secondly, the reality of gifts being given to the Church to individuals by the Holy Spirit calls for Her members to insist upon having instruction for the identification, development and use of the gifts. There must be a “programmed focus” by our Church leaders to instruct the Church members in what the gifts are, the discovery of the gifts of each person in the kingdom and in the manner that the gifts are to be developed and used. After all this is the call, gifting, purpose and results of the work of our pastor teachers.

Eph 4:11-16 And he gave some ….. pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

A program for the discovery, development, and use of gifts is requisite for Christians to get a grasp on their gift (s) and call from God. Roman 12: 3-8 establishes the basic framework for evaluating, recognizing and application of the gifts and call of God in ones life. We see that framework for in we :

• vs 3: Evaluate soberly to discover God's gifts.

• vss. 4-5: Recognize the function of the individual gift among the many.

• vss. 6-8: Use the individual gift in practical applications by God's help.

Rom 12:3-8 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (4) For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: (5) So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. (6) Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; (7) Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; (8) Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Thirdly, the implications of having a gift or gifts from God are many. They are as varied as each individual and each gift God bestows. Each person with their gift (s) identified will need to implement the use of the gift in the best and most efficient manner possible to them. Perhaps you are laboring where God have gifted you but you have discovered another gift that will take more time throughout the weeks and years to come. In this case then you will need to learn time management, planning and scheduling. As good stewards in the kingdom of God we each will seek be faithful to our Lord. Some will have the call of God in their life to the ministry, some to missionary work, some are called to be carpenters, clerks, housewives, nurses, doctors, etc. Therefore many will need to set aside time for schooling or perhaps the schooling has been done but you may not be working in the gift (s) and call the Lord has given to you. More on the gifts of God and our vocation in life can be discovered in the writing Biblical Principals of Work and the Biblical Work Ethic at http://christianthotsataglance.blogspot.com/ .

You may find that as you discover, develop and began deploying you gifts faithfully there may be changes in you life may forthcoming. For example a change in your focus, attitude and practice in the vocation God has you working in now in your life may be needful. Especially if instead of seeing your gifts and labor as unto the Lord you discover that you are a “job complainer”. And in this you are a complainer of the gift (s) God have given you! This sin therefore will need to be confessed for, we are instructed - “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” (Col. 3:22-25)

There is no room for job complaints. Those that complain about their jobs, their bosses, and, especially, any lack of appreciation must be confronted for all such complaints ultimately are against Christ, for "it is the Lord Christ whom you serve" (vs. 24).

God has given men certain competiencies to fit the calling or callings God has for each person. Men are to work using those gifts and ablities which God has gifted him or her. We live in a society wherein we think we all have the rights and ability to go to college, take whaever course of study we desire, struggle through, graduate and then work at that job for which we desire even though we barely passed the final exam. It is true that we are all created equal but we do not have the same abilities. Maybe, just maybe, we are over extended from our God given abilities. You need to understand that not all people have the same abilities. Some people do not see well. Therefore for them to take a job as a reader, test grader, newspaper journalist / editor would be out of their God given providential abilities.

The gifts of God in Romans 12, 1 Peter, and 1 Corinthians are gifts based upon the abilities God is pleased to give the believers. So it is with mankind in creation in general. All non-inhibited, non-handicapped people may be creative in their abilities God has given them, but not all of them can be carpenters, lawyers, doctors, business men. Not all can be office managers, drafters, contract negotiators, etc. Your abilities are a gift from God. You need to decern your abilities and seek those avenues of study and labor. For you to try to be an auto mechanic, even if you have a desire, without the ability to perform this task is to bring upon you undue burden, hard labor, dissatification in the work force and personal relationship problems. You may even find yourself eventually in the unemployment line. Without further comment and any other example I think most of us can identify with this in that many of us may have possibly have been there.We need to understand that our abilities are from God.

Not only are our gifts and abilities from him but also the labor that we are to perform is a calling of God in our lives. We know that God is soverign and that in His providence we are in a vocation from God. Therefore we are to work in that position which fits our competiencies and abilities to the glory of Christ our Savior knowing that this is God’s will for us at this time. Our life will be best regulated when the focus is to know, acknowledge and use those God given abilities. In putting our abilities to use we will not be unsettled about where to look for a place to fit in the work environment. We will not be running to and fro at every "I think I’d like to do this" fanciful whim. We will not be trying to do that which is really beyond our abilities. We will quickly become more stable in our work environment, with a more stabile work enviornment and we will be more stable in providing for the family. Also in this we will be able to do a better quality work for the glory of God, the advancement of the kingdom and the common good for our society.

.How does one evaluate to discover, develop, and use the gifts God has given to you as an individual? Romans 12:3-6 affords a basic biblical framework.

1. First, you need to evaluate soberly (clearly and factually) yourself in order to discover God’s gifts. An example: Do not think you are a scientist when you do not know nor have never worked in science field but only like science magazines.

2. Secondly, you must recognize the function of the individual gifts among the many that there are. You must know that your abilities are different from others yet they are part of a whole. Not all have the same gifts or abilities.

3. Thirdly, use the individual gift in practical applications which is given you by the grace of God, by God’s help. In other words, "How does that which I am able to do affect others in church and society?Romans 12:3-6 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:4-5 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

Work was established in the garden prior tothe fall. In this "friendly environment" work was about being obedient to God who ordained it. Created men were to accomplish work because of the ordanince / decree of God. Therefore we can deduce from the time historical account of the established ordinance that money is not the satisification we get from work. The money we get from work is a benefit and not its ultimate purpose. The ultimate purpose in work is to please God by being obedient to Him working aqs unto Him. Work done in a God-honoring manner will bring joy and satisfaction as we live redeemed in Christ in the abundant life He gives.The necessity in man is to be a creative and productive being. Man has been made to have dominion over the works of his hands. God has put all things under his feet. (Ps. 8:6 and Genesis chapters 1-2) This overall calling and necessity is seen in the carrying forth of such desires in the tasks and duties of:

a. the science of discovery;

b. building of things;

c. Home furnishing and decorating;

d. gardening;

e. self-employment of many sorts;

f. baking;

g. hobbies;

h. etc.

Fourthly, No one is useless in the Kingdom of God. All Christians are given a gift or gifts. The biblical teaching on gifts meets all those objections of persons who have arrived at the erroneous conclusion that they are useless, have no reason for going on, etc. What one does not have cannot be expected from that person however what one has been given is ti be discovered, developed and applied. The person that claims, “I have no gifts.” Has not been taught, or is seeking laziness as a way of life in the kingdom or perhaps they are depressed. Even the sick and elderly can do some things which the Lord gives them. For example a person that is no longer able to work outside and is therefore homebound or has been placed in a mature care facility can pray, send cards, make phone calls, etc. in order to encourage support actions in the kingdom of God.

There is no one useless in the kingdom of God! The biblical facts show that there is always a place to work in the kingdom of God. The Body of Christ is in need of all your gifts and the combinations there of. If they are not used the body of Christ suffers from your using them. The Holy Spirit knows what He is doing therefore lets use the gift (s) given us. OK! For more on the usefulness of all Christians please read the blog From Uselessness To UseFullness http://christianthotsataglance.blogspot.com/.

Fifthly, There is no room for bragging – “I’m better than you.” One the other hand that is not one person that has the rite to say, “Look at me I am better than you are since I have this or that gift”. Remember that God has given the gifts and distributed them as he has desired. Properly understood this stamps out pride in those that think they are better than others and on the flip side it knocks out envy and jealously since that is not the purpose of God in the giving of the gifts. The purpose is to glorify God, serve our brethern and advance the kingdom of our Lord.

To be continued ...... Steve

The Power of Relationships

2006-04-05T20:26:00.000-05:00

The Power of Relationships

My father and mother is with our Lord. Their love for the Lord and for me and my nine brothers and sisters have been the greatest influence in my life. As always, I am always thankful for their godly influence in my life………… Steve

As a kid my dad used to tell me, “Son be careful who you run around with they can influence you to do things that your mom a I have taught you not to do.” He, being wise, understood that no man lived unto themselves but that all of our contacts with others inevitably influence us one way or another. He knew that those we imitate influence us “pouring into and upon” us their thoughts and actions. He also understood the thoughts and actions of the people influencing us could be right and proper or they could be wrong and sinful since those we imitate can be bad influences to us if they pour into us He was concerned that this would cause me to sin.

THE POWER OF INFLUENCES:

Influences are powerful and are inevitable in each of our lives. We are socially interdependent creatures and we are not an island unto ourselves. God created us social beings and influences that come from others are very powerful in our lives. God holds us responsible to avoid evil influences and to seek out edifying ones. As we make friends and acquaintances our lives will be affected for good or bad. It is God’s will that we imitate other people. It is how God created us! We have been adequately forewarned and we are to “be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” (I Cor. 15:33) Therefore we need to avoid bad company and seek positive godly friends and influences. The influences we choose whether good or bad, consciously or unconsciously, are a matter of personal choice. They have personal consequences. If we link ourselves with someone that is bad and sinful there will be bad influences poured upon is. When we sin because of choosing the wrong person to imitate we have no right to say “the devil made me do it”, or my friend Sally (or Fred) made me do it.” We should repent, confess our sin and seek forgiveness. Part of our repentance is that we are to seek proper friends and relationships since we will now accept our accountability for how we are influenced.

DO NOT BE UNEQUALLY YOKED

Since we are influenced by, and imitate those, we have relationships with, and since the Bible calls us to godly relationships, it is important that we are not unequally yoked (believers w/ unbelievers). It is important that Christians establish relationships such as friends, spouses, business partners and any other acquaintances in the context of a Christian worldview. Therefore the friends we choose need to care about living out their lives to the glory of God. Our friends need to be members of the Church, faithful in the study and application of the scriptures and people that will exert a positive influence in our lives.

a. Not yoked with the world”

We are not to be unequally yoked with the world. Christianity and the world have different morals and values. Even so we must have limited contact and relationships with the world since we are still in the world. We must live, work, and do business with those that are not believers. We cannot avoid the world altogether since we need others competences, skills and abilities in many areas of life. However the world is to be avoided in its unchristian philosophies, morals and ethics so that we are not influenced by them and become corrupted. The we are to work with the world in areas of business and commerce and in such a manner that we can be witnesses for our Lord.

I wrote to you in my letter not to get mixed up with those who are sexually immoral; not that you shouldn't have anything whatever to do with the sexualy immoral of this world (or with greedy persons, or robbers, or idolaters) since to do that you would have to leave the world altogether.But now let me explain that- what I wrote was that you must not get mixedup with any so-called brother who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkkard or a robber; you must not even eai with a person like that. (1 Cor. 5:9-11)

b. Not yoked with those under church discipline

We are not to have fellowship or be unequally yoked with Christians that are under Church discipline and remaining unrepentant. We are to look out for and mark these folks so tht we not become yoked to such a person. Matthew chapter 18 instructs us that there is no true fellowship with someone who remains unrepentant and we must not get mixed up with them. Compare also Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonians in 3:14,15 of his letter:
Now, whoever doesn't obey what we say in this letter, mark that person and don't mix with him so that he may become ashamed of himself. And yet, don't regard him as an enemy, but rather counsel him as a brother.

WE DO IMITATE OTHERS:

We are created to imitate others. It is a basic characteristic of life. That’s how God created us and that is assumed by the writers of scripture. John, knowing this, called for his friend to be responsible and to imitate good and not evil (III John). Imitating others is a part of the learning process in life. Infants and small children learn by imitating their moms, dads, or sitter. As they grow and enter school they imitate their teachers, school and church friends. In college and later in life the influences come from professors, close friends, spouses, work friends and people in the church. It is clear that as created much of what we learn comes through imitation, in childhood and throughout life.

BAD COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD MORALS:

Sinful influences in ones life affects ones worship of God, ones work ethic and ones marriage. For example whenever a couple or one spouse develops a close tie with someone whose influence issinful it will inevitably affect the marriage for ill. I knew a couple that together were influenced by an evil person to such a degrading level to have another person enter their marriage bed. Suffice it to say that soon after the marriage ended, their home was lost, the parties ended up living for awhile on the street, the kids were disbursed, etc. Bad company corrupts good morals. Remember this and write it on the doorposts of your house. Sin will take you down the road father than you ever want to go, keep you longer than you ever want to stay and cost you more than you intend to spend.

If someone begins having problems in their life one thing to be aware of is their friends, associates, children and the influences they may be having in one’s life:

a. Teenager trouble - If teenagers who are they hanging out and talking with. Are they being influenced to “experiment” with drugs, abuse of alcohol sex, etc. Teenagers influence other teenagers – big time! This can cause dishonoring to parents, crime, addictions and sexual problems.

b. Marriage trouble – Are there inappropriate influences from the in-laws? Are the Children influencing you and turn ing you against your spouse? Is the wife of a couple listening to other women who are talking about their husbands. My wife and I have seen this type of “stuff” happen in a woman’s groups in one local church years ago. Is a husband listening to sexual jokes and sexual escapades by office friends? Is one spouse keeping inappropriate time with someone of the other sex swapping family problems? This things cause marriage troubles and is not corrected bust marriages!

c. Work or labor trouble – Is the person hanging out at work with people that grumble, are malcontent and do not respect authority? Are you work friends people that miss work, or seek to get out of work by not doing what they are hired to do? Sinful influences will pull you away from the biblical work ethic!

CAUTION - DON’T BE MISLED:

Now we must be on our guard. We all are influenced and led by others. We are to ensure that we are not misled. You may think you are a strong tower and can withstand any influencing “winds of life” that blow your way. You may even think that you can spend time to help a person of evil doing or ill repute as you “seek to help” him or her. Or you may think that you can be a “friend” of a person that does evil without being influenced by it BUT YOU CANNOT. Either ever so slowly or by not being able to handle “felt pressure” your good practices and habits erode causing you sadly to end up doing what you normally would not do. Therefore, tape this to the frontal lobes of your mind and do not forget this protective warning and command of God – “Don't be misled; "Bad companions corrupt good habits." (I Cor. 15:33)

Companions and friendships with evil people will not only influence you but they will “corrupt good habits." (1 Cor. 15:33) That is that which is already established in your character which is good and honoring to God they can and will rip from you. Paul urges the Romans Church brethren “to watch out for those who, by disregarding the teaching that you have learned, cause divisions and give occasion for stumbling. Such people do not serve our Lord Christ as bondservants, but are slaves of their own appetites; and by fine talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. (Rom. 16:16, 17) Wrong evil and sinful companions, through flattery and deceit, cause divisions in life amongst moms and daughters, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, wives and husbands, churches, good friendships, etc.

WISDOM CALLS FOR PERSONAL APPLICATION:

The message of wisdom is proclaimed over and over in both the Old and New Testaments. That message is simple, “Keep away from those that live displeasing to God or they will corrupt you.”

Don't be misled; "Bad companions corrupt good habits. (I Cor. 15:33)

Quit the company of the simple and live (Prov. 9:6).

The companion of fools will suffer harm (Prov. 13:20).

Do not associate with one given to anger, and with a wrathful man do not keep company, lest you leam his ways and fall into a trap (Prov. 22:24).

Be not among the winebibbers, among gluttonous eaters of flesh (Prov. 23:20).

The partner of a thief hates himself; he heard the curse, but says nothing (Prov.29:24).

With a warning and the call of wisdom, there needs to be a response from each of us. That response, while it may be difficult to carry out is also simple in application – Watch out for bad people and influences, don’t be taken in by their flattery and cunning fables and deceit. Put away from you any relationship that is now or will be a bad influence in order to build friendships and companions of godly character.

Can you list some good influential friendships within Scripture:

1. Paul and Timothy
2. ________________________
3. ________________________
4. ________________________
5. ________________________

Can you list bad influential friendships within Scripture:

1. ________________________
2. ________________________
3. ________________________
4. ________________________
5. ________________________

TAKE PERSONAL INVENTORY:

Here is something to do so that you can consider whether, and confirm if, your relationships in life are correct.

a. List as many people you can who have had an influence on you, either for good or for evil.

b. Identify your relationships now and list how they are influencing you now for either good or bad. If there are bad influences then take action to build new relationships with people that honor God, his Word and his people.

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are Thou?

2006-04-03T10:20:00.000-05:00

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Tim Naab (AKA Tim Micer)

Man, for centuries, has debated their own state of being. Scripture is clear in stating that all men, from the moment of life, are lost. This “lostness” is not a result of what each man does, but is a lostness based on imputaution. Adam was told by God, “… of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the DAY that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely DIE”. Gen 2:17. The serpent said, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall NOT surely DIE:” Gen. 3:4. Since both of these statements can not be true, either God or the serpent was lying. “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”Titus 1:2. So the liar is the serpent. Therefore God was speaking truth when He said that IN THE DAY you eat of it YOU SHALL DIE. Since Adam did not die physically that day then he must have died spiritualy. Paul said in Romans 8 that God will quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit dwelling IN us. We are made alive spiritualy when God redeems us. Adam, being dead spiritualy can not produce a man that is alive spiritualy. Any more than Adam being mortal could produce an immortale offspring. We see in Genesis 1 that God brought forth all creatures after their own kind. Therefore by the offence of one man, all are dead in sin.

Sin is a symptom of our state of being, not the cause of it. In other words, when we sin we do not BECOME lost we are already lost. The view that our sin causes us to become lost is called Pelagianism. Pelagianism is an heretical and anti-christian view of the state of man. This view holds that all men are not corrupt because of Adam in that each man is only responsible for the sins he commits. In essence it says that man BECOMES lost when he sins and that all men WILL eventualy sin. Here is a quote from a statement of faith from kingmessiahproject.com..” 11. According to Romans 5:18, original sin is imputed to every single person born into the world (with no exceptions). This is because the entire humans race was in Adam's loins when he sinned and, because of this, is just as guilty. Romans 5:19 adds that, because of Adam's disobedience, "many were made sinners." In other words, it is our nature to sin. We just can't help it!” This “appears to be right on, however in speaking to the owner of this website on this matter he states, “Man becomes lost when he hears the Gospel and rejects it. If a man never hears the Gospel, he is not responsible and will be saved by the knowledge he has received. THIS IS Pelagianism. We must be very careful when we read a person’s or organization’s statement of faith. As with all false beliefs, they sound good in their statements but in fact deny what they appear to stand for. This type of pelagainism will go to great lengths to twist scripture to hold to an emotional belief by stating the following, “12. Though original sin is imputed to every single person born into the world, babies, young children and the mentally handicapped who die and were obviously unable to understand or accept the gospel message are treated with God's grace and mercy and are saved.” (another quote from kingmessiahproject.com) Notice the EMOTIONAL appeal as proof over Scripture.

Spiritualy dead men can not know the things of God nor can he even receive them. Paul covered this very well in 1 Cor.2:9-14 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Notice that no eye can see, no ear can hear, neither can it even ENTER in to the hearts of WHO???? V14……. the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ALL men from the moment of life are natural men and spitirualy dead. The Gospel is spiritual, redepemption is spiritual, justification is spiritual, sanctification is spiritual….so you must ask yourself HOW DOES GOD PLACE SPIRITUAL THINGS IN A NATURAL MAN. God will not negate scripture and scripture says the natural man CAN NOT receive these things NEITHER can he know them.

If you say God places it there while the man is still natural and not spiritual, then you are saying that God goes against His word. That the only way God can place this spiritual understanding into a man is to FIRST make him spiritual. We are reconciled to God NOT as redeemed men but as enemies of God. Romans 5:10 does not say, When we believe we are reconciled to God.” Nor dos it say, “when we are born-again we are reconciled to God”. It says, …, when we were ENEMIES, we were reconciled to God…. This MUST be true for ALL men. Which means ALL men are LOST from the moment of life and NEVER become lost. God regenerates a man (makes spiritually alive) and then places his truth in them so they WILL believe. Now comes the “hard” part, many will say, “this means I don’t have FREE WILL.” RIGHT!! We are NOT saved by our will but by the will of God. John 1:12-13 “ But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Many argue that we have free will because we CHOOSE this or that, yet in John 1 it says we are not born by the will (choice) of man but by (the will-His choice) of God. Why is it that many say OUR will is OUR choice but GOD’S WILL is not HIS CHOICE?

Man has now become so intelligent, that he no longer needs a material image of god. The concept of god in the mind of man is no less an image than the wood and stone of other “ignorant” cultures. Man still places his confidence in this mental image and gives it a place of honor in their life. The image of god is still there only to bless the man and see to his every desire. It is an image formed that fits the lifestyle of the individual, one that will accept the man as he is and over look his short comings. Some men have “chosen” to place their faith in this belief and then call themselves, Muslims, Hindu, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhist, and even Christians. The Bible says, “They profess that they know God; BUT IN WORKS THEY DENY HIM, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate”. (Titus 1:16). “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, NEITHER KNOWTH HIM:…” (John 14:17). ”Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.” (Jeremiah 5:4) ”Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.” (Ecclesiastes 8:17).

The unsaved man has conceived of a god that is in subjection to their desires, a god that is not sovereign, a god formed in THEIR image. THIS IS NOT GOD. Man is not injured and in need of healing, he is dead in need of raising. Unless God reveals himself to a man, he CAN NOT be known. Check yourself. Is the god you believed in before your “conversion” the same god you now serve? If so, then you are serving an image of god, nothing less than an idol. No more a god than the wood and stone images of the “ignorant” people. Just because you call this image God or Jesus does not make it so. If you respond, “yes it is the same god, I just know him in a better way”, wrong answer! If you say, “I know him in my spirit now not just in my mind”, wrong answer! ”For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11)

You can not be a new creation and have an old creation concept of God. A new creation will have a new nature and mind, it will be able to see the old creation and realize the difference. If there is no recognition of the difference, then there is no difference and you are still dead in your sin. Stop trying to use fanciful spiritual language to convince yourself you are ok with God. Be honest and look at yourself. Compare the difference. If the only difference you see is that you stopped cursing, or drinking, or doing drugs, and started going to church, then all you are seeing is how your flesh has improved. Noah was not saved FROM the flood, Lot was not saved FROM Sodom and Gomorrah, the children of Israel were not saved FROM the death angel in Egypt and the redeemed were not saved FROM hell. Noah, Lot, the children of Israel and the redeemed, were not saved TO be in heaven with God. Neither were any of these saved BY the ark, nor BY the angels, nor BY the blood on the door posts, nor BY their decision. None were saved FOR there own sake…….ALL that are saved are saved FROM GOD, TO GOD, BY GOD, and FOR GOD. Saved FROM His WRATH, TO His PRESENCE, BY His WILL, FOR His GLORY. This is not a time to play religious word games, it is a time to take a close look at yourself. The problem is, most will not. Pride will cause most to believe they are ok with God. Many will read this and say, “this isn’t for me”. My hope and prayer is that some will read this and realize that they do not know God and in so doing will know Him.

Tim Naab

The Purpose Of Forgivness

2006-04-01T19:51:00.000-05:00

The Purpose Of Forgiveness

So now what are we to do if we are sinned against and then that someone confesses wrong doing, asks forgiveness and claims to be repentant? The Bible is very clear in its instruction concerning what we need to know and do when some asks for forgiveness. It is really a very easy formula! Basically, we are to forgive all that say they repent even if the offense has been repeated before (Lk. 17:3). Our model whom we are to pattern ourselves after is Christ Himself. The Apostle Paul instructs us in this when he calls for the Ephesus Church to follow Christ in “ forgiving one another just as God, in Christ has forgiven you.” (Eph. 4:32)

Now we are not to forgive the one that sinned and offended us if he or she has not repented. Forgiving the wrongdoer is to be granted only when the wrongdoer repents. Forgiveness was granted by God only when we repented. When repentance is proclaimed we forgive as we follow our model - the Lord Jesus Christ.

One thing that is important to understand is that forgiveness is not for the benefit of the one doing the forgiving but for the one repenting. Forgiveness is for the benefit of the sinner, the wrongdoer! AS we remember that it was when we repented, admitted we were a sinner and believed that we benefited in that God granted us forgiveness, we entered into adopted sonship with all those benefits, we received eternal life and received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. AMEN!

The greatest benefit is that of being granted forgiveness. In the granting of forgiveness the wrongdoer or sinner receives the commitment and promise of the one doing the forgiving that they will not bring up the sin and wrong doing to the wrongdoer, to others, nor to themselves. That is right the one granting forgiveness is not to set and think upon the wrong that was done to them. They are to love the person they have forgiven by believing the best and renewing their mind concerning this person since a new reconciled relationship has been established through the forgiveness.

If one keeps the person that did the wrong at arms distance, not speaking to them, not allowing them fellowship shows that forgiveness has not been granted. If the person states they forgive the person and does not walk in a renewed relationship to the person then there is wrongdoing from the person which stated forgiveness was being granted and there needs to be a change in heart so that there is true forgiveness granted. Forgiveness once again is to be modeled in the manner in which God forgives. And He forgives in a manner as in casting our sin into the bottom of the sea and in separating us from our forgiven sin “as far as the east is from the west”!

Psa 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Now you may say, “But didn’t Jesus Christ pray from the cross, Father, forgive them?” The answer is yes, but note He asked the God the Father to forgive them. Jesus did not forgive apart from repentance. Guess what when they repent the Father forgives them. AMEN!

In reality forgiveness has a goal, a purpose. That purpose is to deliver the offender from the burden of guilt and hopefully the practice of the sin. If a person has done wrong and then that one has just a relief from the wrong they did by the person they did wrong to then the person that did the wrong still goes about in their sin and guilt before God. They are no better off. The sin has not been dealt with. Some sort of “release” has just happened and this sin may just snowball. Can you imagine a murder just being “released” form his or her sin of taking a life, or a thief being “released” from stealing $ 100.000.00. No repentance, no judgment, no restitution, no reconciliation of any kind. What a world we would live in! Therefore, you must admit that it really would be real noticeably inconsistent for someone to “forgive / release” an unrepentant person that has done wrong before the call to discipline and its work of repentance. This being whether the call of the discipline of repentance is in the church or in society.

Now we have established that forgiveness granted is a promise not to refer to the offender’s sin any more. Therefore we need to understand the thread of purpose in forgiveness – winning the offender. If a person does not repent the matter is not settled and the offense is to be brought up before the person again and again, not to irritate but to see repentance and lives changed for the betterment of the person. A thief is to be tried and found wanting. A murder is to be tried and retried if necessary and found guilty. A sinner is to be proclaimed guilty. An offender to a brother and / or sister in Christ is to be called to repentance and that repentance done before forgiveness is to be granted by those that were the recipients of the wrong incurred. The by product, not the purpose, of this will be a better Church, society and neighborhood as the persons life is changed for the better and they no longer practice this sin renew the relationships are established through formidable reconciliation.

Now you may say, “When I forgive someone I feel good about it and I can move on with life. I can forgive in my heart and move on to better things no matter what the person does.” Again as stated above that is not forgiveness, nor the purpose of forgiveness. That is just a “release” of some sort. Some seek this way out when done wrong by others and a few try never to talk about the issue to anyone. That, I must admit, takes a strong constitution if one can pull that off! Experience however dictates that it is generally impossible for folks to just “let it go”. A couple serious errors happen here:

1) Many people that try this end up living with thought of the wrong done to them and many times this approach to life’s relationships cause anger, bitterness, hatred, etc. especially from the one that sought to “forgive through release”; and

2) The sin and wrong doing is inadvertently supported since the person that did the wrong never gets the call to the discipline of repentance and therefore they remain in the guilt of the sin and wrongdoing. And in this the sin can snowball and wrongdoing can be caused to others since it is still out there.

The person that did the wrong needs confronted and called to repentance. The person that this was done to needs to be a part of this process. You don’t have to go alone if the person will not hear you but you are not to “just let them be abd let the Lord take care of them”. That is very clear!

In conclusion, it is important to understand that forgiveness is not something one feels.It is something one person grants to another. You do not need to nor must feel like forgiving someone to forgive them either. Forgiveness is a promise to the repentant wrongdoer that you make and keep that no matter how deep the hurt the sin and wrong is, nor how feelings about it may come and go. Your promise to them is a promise and that promise is simply that the sin and wrong will not be brought up and discussed again either to them, to others nor to yourself no matter your feelings and emotions. That’s right nor to yourself! “But it want go away instantly.” That’s right but, when it does come comes in your mind you are to will renew your thoughts towards the reconciled person. Eventually it will be pushed far back in the thought processes and not be an issue that will float to the top. Remember Christ’s great sacrifice toward you by which He forgave your sins! If you truly forgive you bury the matter and no account is kept or ever referred to even to as much as seven multiples in one day or life.

Now perhaps you have not yet known the forgivness of God in your life. If not you are a sinner and are guilty before the Holy God of Heaven. You may not feel guilty and may not feel convicted but you are guilty and are convicted and will spend an eternity without God in hell if you do not repent from sin and believe in Christ. So if this day you repent of sin and rest in Christ who took the punishment of hell on the cross you will be saved. May God bless and save you from the guilt of sin and may you know true forgiveness you as you make your calling and election sure. Please let us know how we may help you.

Oh Lord may we walk refreshed daily as we walk in repentance from sin and forgiveness in your sight and in the sight of men. Amen

Appendix

My struggle and yet blessing.

I feel I am chief of sinner. I am a person that continues to battle sin. Why? I sin a bunch. I am not glorying in that but I find that I just get upset or do stupid things and / or forget to do what God has directed. It seems I grow in one area only to find another area that sin seems rampant in. But thanks be to God that the Holy Spirit works in me and His word is ther to direct me and call me to repentance and to mortify the flesh.

I read many blogs and many Christian writers that talk about their desire to live godly and I do as well. It seems they do not struggle as I do. I am “jealous”. I just find it very hard to do. Therefore, I warn my friends and tell them or people I am becoming friends with that my desire will not be to ever maliciously hurt or sin against you or God but it may happen at some point. I also let them know that I will repent and seek forgiveness. Now I do not use this as an excuse to presumptuously sin. I am just pointing out that Jesus must have had me in mind when He stated “offenses will come”. I have had to acknowledge my wrong, apologize and ask forgiveness not only in face to face relationships in life but even in the internet world of blogging and talk chat. I acknowledged my sin, did works of repentance and verbally asked for forgiveness publicly even and writing a public apology. Thankfully I w as granted forgiveness and for that I am grateful. I have been given renewed relationships and that is precious. To live forgiven daily by the Lord and amongst men is one of the greatest blessings and feelings of refreshment this life offers!

I also know how difficult it is to forgive. It is clear from scriptures that to forgive others is our basic duty. I have written about this earlier so I will not attempt to discuss this at this time. Go to the URL below to learn of Christ’s instruction concerning the difficulty of granting forgive which is one of our basic duties:

http://christianthotsataglance.blogspot.com/2005/12/our-basic-duty-forgive-repentant.html

Now I tell you this so that you know that I am not perfect and I also need God’s grace working in me to progressively sanctify me in many areas of life. And because I do understand the freshness of being forgiven and I know first hand the purpose of forgiveness.

Systematic and Outlined Approach For Your Reading And Learning Pleasure

2006-03-30T08:54:00.000-05:00

Systematic and Outlined Approach For Your Reading And Learning Pleasure

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Many thanks to the readers of this blog for your continued support and encouragement. The purpose of this blog is for encouragement, instruction and growth in the are Practical Christian Living. According to the feedback received this past month people have grown in the faith, seen the Lord work and bless in lives being changed, been renewed in the faith, etc. May God continue to bless this as we continue to stand on Sola Scriptura and the suffuciency of God and His holy scripture.

Here is the updated and systematic outline for anyone that:

a.) desires to read the site in a systematic manner,
b.) is interested in a topic, or
c.) is struggling with some sin or issue in your life.

For those that get the blog in theor email if you seea topic or subjects that you would like sent to you e-mail let me know which ones and I will send them to you e-mail.

Please note that at the top of each blog page there is a search bar and each of you can search the blog for whatever area you desire to read.

(As of 3/30/06 there are over 140 different blogs / areas of study with over 250,000 words)

Added to this site during the month of March include but is not limited to:

“Thinking Deacon”

“My Most Precious Faith” (10 part series I put together for my children)

“What Think Ye Of Mary”

“To Oil Or Not To Oil”

“The Importance Of Church Membership”

“ A Critical Look At The Emerging Church Movement (Catcheized edited seminar by Phil Johnson)

“God’s Word Filtered”

“What To Do With Guilt”

“How Is Your Conscience?”

“The Keys! Who Has Them?”

“Infants In The Celestial City”

Etc.

As always this blog is not perfect in many ways (typing errors, limited site manipulators, etc.) but we do believe the blog site to be instructive without being in any way debative or argumentative. The best we can do as Christians is to write to instruct God’s people in a positive manner. Please continue to pray that our internet Christian brothers and sisters will feel comfortable reading and learning at this site..Again thanks for your continued support and for those that continue to plug and advertise this blogsite and use it for reference and support.

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I. God’s Gift of Grace Applied

1. Grace, Grace, God’s Grace
2. The Covenant of Grace - Hodge
3. The New Birth and Conversion: The True Biblical Salvation
4. God’s Orderly Work of Salvation
5.Foreknowledged Defined
6. Christ The Lord
7. The Providence of God Brings Comfort To Believers
8. Perseverance of the Saints
9. Calvinism
10. Jesus Had The Power To Sin But Did Not Have The Character To Sin
11. A Follow-up Explaination off “Jesus Had The Power To Sin But Did Not Have The Characte To Sin”

12. A Critical Look At the Emerging Church Movement w/ Catechism Editing A Critical Look At the Emerging Church Movement by: Phil Johnson
Catechism Editing By Steve Horne

13. Infants In The Celestial City!
A Critical Look At the Emerging Church Movement Phil Johnson
2006 Shepherds' Conference
Grace Community Church,
Sun Valley, CA

Catechism Editing By Steve Horne http://christianthotsataglance.blogspot.com/

II. The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura

1. Sola Scriptura in Doctrine and Practice (Part 1)

2. Sola Scriptura And Orthopraxy (Part 2)

3. Sola Scriptura and Orthopraxy: Establishes "Philosophy of Ministry" (Part 3)

4. Sola Scriptura and Orthopraxy: In Doctrine, Church Polity, Worship, and More (Part 4)

5. Sola Scriptura and Orthopraxy: In Our Worship and Christian Living (Part 5)

III. The Church, Communion and Day Of Worship

1. Identifying the Church
2. The Importance Of Church Membership

3. The Holy Spirit and the Church

4. Leadership and Unity in the Kingdom of God

5. Bible Instruction Must Be Under The Authority of the Church
6. The Keys, Who Has Them?

7. The Baptism Of Our Sinless Saviour

8. Baptismal Exhortation

9. Infant Baptism Does the Bible Teach It

10. The Sins of Rebaptism and Of Leaving One's Baby Unbaptized
11. Confusion, Not God;s Way So IT Can BE Cleared Up – Baptismal Confusion

12. True Communion

13. Glorifying God

14. The Lord’s Wonderful Day

15. Thinking Deacon

16. What Type Of Church Did The Apostles Attend

17. Are We Catholics?
18. What Think Ye Of Mary
19. God’s Word Filtered!

IV. Christian Witnessing

1. Called To Confess Christ In Word And As A Living Letter

2. Listening for Gospel Opportunities

3. Let's Evangelize4. Creationism

V. God’s Guidance and the Tools of Faith

1. Guided … by God?

2. Tools of the Faith

3. Canons - God’s Word Filtered!

4. Favorite Hymns

5. More Favorite Hymns

6. The Bible God’s Word To Us

7. Progressive Sanctification – Growing in Grace, Cooperation With God

VI Practical Christian Living to Glorify God

1. One Anothering

2. What is Nouthetic Counseling – Jay Adams

3. Godliness through Discipline – Jay Adams

4. A Look At Commitment

5. Our Basic Duty – Forgive the Repentant

6. Overcoming Evil – Jay Adams

7. Worry: A Serious Life Issue That Leads To Atheistic and Lazy Process Which Must Be Broken

8. Biblical Principals of Work and the Biblical Work

9. Thoughts on Biblical Sexuality and in Overcoming Sexual Difficulty

10. AA Doctrines Compared with the Scriptures

11. Can We Use Eastern Language In Our Prayer And Devotional Life1

2. Abomination – Often Used And Misunderstood

13. Perseverance Of The Saints

14. From Uselessness To Usefulness

15. From Unpardonable to Pardonable

16. The Need To Forgive God

17. Being Angry for the Purpose Of Problem Resolution

18. Proper Thinking At the Time of A Death and / Or At A Funeral

19. To Oil or Not To Oil

20. What Christians May Do

21. Guidance When You are Just Not Sure What To Do

22. What To Do With Guilt

23. How Is Your Conscience?

24. Resolving Sexual Difficulties In The 21st Century

VIII. My Most Precious Faith (10 Parts) Written for my Children and Place Here To Encourage You As You Disciple Your Children in the Most Holy Faith

1. My Most Prescious Faith - Introduction
2. My Most Precious Faith - Deliverance
3. My Most Precious Faith – Belief of A Christian
4. My Most Precious Faith – Concerning the Sacraments
5. My Most Precious Faith – Living in Grace and Gratitude
6. My Most Precious Faith – Our Duty to God
7. My Most Precious Faith – Our Duty to Men
8. My Most Precious Faith – Prayer Our Duty and Pleasure
9. My Most Precious Faith – The Lord’s Coming Again
10. My Most Precious Faith - Conclusion

IX. Miscellaneous.

1. A Request Humble Honored

2. Judy Rogers Music – Giving The Best To Your Children

3. Proverbs Themes:

1. Patience2. Discipline

3. Self Image

4. Wisdom

5. Accountability

6. Honesty

7. Instant Living and Its Down Fall

8. Friendship

9. Family (Father, Mother, Children)

10. The Simple

11 The Tongue

12. Laziness

13. Abomination

Over The Top Or Under The Floor? You Decide!

2006-03-29T06:17:00.000-05:00

Over The Top Or Under the Floor

I fully understand apologetics, it’s biblical call to each of us and therefore the importance of giving an answer. I am concerned about the negativity that is around everywhere amongst Christians, you find it in the Christian online chat community, the blog world and even in many churches Sunday after Sunday! I find it odd that many pastors see Sunday morning and evening worship time not as a time to worship but as a time to “apologize”. Answering for the hope I have is one thing, but to spend so much energy to repeat the same things over and over again seems to me to go far beyond the normal call of duty. I find the monkey to be upon the back of those that are liberal and stray from the faith. I am not cold, I do seek to give forth what I have been taught in the faith so others may know the glories of Christ and His wonderful kingdom. However I am not going to spend a lot of energy upon such things when my brothers and sisters in Christ need and desire encouragement. God will not let the gates of hell destroy the Church.

Now what I guess I am saying is that I believe Christianity is positive, burdens are lifted at Calvary and I have life abundant. Therefore I do believe the focus, for we Christians, should be to learn how to live in the kingdom of Christ, to focus on the joys of the faith and live joy always . Selfishly, that is what I want to see from my pastor, elders and church leaders. And thankfully that has been their focus in instructing me in theology. They have placed it in a framework to affect my life positively for good and the effect of that is that I am able to give an answer and contend for the faith as needed without an extreme focus on the “ills of the day”.

I understand that a parishioner is different from the clergy. The clergy has work to do that the laity is not called to. They are called to protect the sheep and I want to let them do their job. I also know I am to read the word, worship and minister to others. I pray I can carry out what I am learning, and called to do as I am a disciple in the faith. But I pray I never over emphasize, whether by “fighting or exposing” error to a point that my faith becomes a burdon and I forget the abundant life I have in Christ!

I pray this has sparked a though in you today to leave the liberals go therefore and live life in all of its joy, peace and abundance. After all the liberals have been warned – How many times: 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27. or more I do think!

Just so you know I am not liberal I am for

Christ Alone
Faith Alone
Grace Alone
Scripture alone
Glory to God Alone
Godly living
Family values
Republicanism (haha)
American Pie
Baseball
Chevrolet
Laughter
A Wonderful Dance
Lobster
Shrimp
Steak
A good salad
Etc.

And I am Against:

Against homosexuality in the Church
Against liberalism
Against modernism
Against sin
Against the Devil
Against heretics
Against emergents

In the love and for the advancement of the Kingdom of our dear Savior,

Steve

Resolving Sexual Difficulties In The 21st Century

2006-03-25T21:51:00.000-05:00

Resolving Sexual Difficulties In The 21st Century

Steve

Since there is much confusion in the realm of sex in our society I thought that it would be good to put together this synopsis to help us understand the subject. It may be that we need a change in our lives or that we may have opportunity to help others to change to God’s ways if the opportunity arises.

I. In the beginning of the Bible we are told that God created humans, male and female. He also established the marital and sexual relationship in both purpose and practice.

1. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman: neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband, at the same time.

2. Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue, and of the Church with an holy seed; and for preventing of uncleanness.

3. It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with judgment to give their consent. Yet it is the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord. And therefore such as profess the true reformed religion should not marry with infidels, papists, or other idolaters: neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are notoriously wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresies.

The marital relationship is a sexual relationship. Therefore there is a need to understand the biblical principals of the sexual relationship. Generally speaking the basic guidelines for governing the relationship is found in 1 Cor. 7 and Prov. 5:18-19.

1Cor 7:1-5 - "Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. But, because of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife her due: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer, and may be together again, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency."

Prov 5:18 - "Let thy fountain be blessed; And rejoice in the wife of thy youth. [As] a loving hind and a pleasant doe, Let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; And be thou ravished always with her love."

II. A married couples biblical basic guidelines that is to be adhered to in their sexual relationships:

1. Marriage and sexuality are good and holy, being ordained by the Lord.

2. Sexual pleasure is assumed.

3. Sex and its pleasure is to be guided by the precept and principle that it is other-oriented and not self-oriented. The right over one’s body belongs to their spouse. (Note also this also does away with homosexuality and masturbation)

4. The sexual relations are to be regular and continuous with your spouse. Adequate sexual pleasure is to be given to your spouse to avoid room for temptation.

5. Sexual regularity is to be determined as often as is required by your spouse.

6. Yet on the other hand let’s understand that there is to be consideration of our mate and that consideration is a rule as well to regulate your sexual requests in marriage.

7. Sex is to be equal to both parties and reciprocal. Sex is the mutual right of both parties in the marriage. Either party (husband or wife) can and should request and initiate sexual relations.

There are no rights to bargain in the marital relations. No “in the doghouse” or “I will have sex with you if you...” or “if you don’t...” do such and such. Marriage partners must never bargain in this area of their relationship.

III. Overcoming Sexual Difficulties in Marriage:

Most sexual difficulties in a marriage are not difficulties in organic or mechanical problem areas. There is very seldom any organic or physiological problems in marriage. Sex is not the problem in difficulties in marriage. Sexual difficulties are, in almost every case the effects or results of relationship breakdowns. These difficulties consist in usually one or more of the following areas fear (ex. of getting pregnant, of abuse because of past mistreatment, some bargaining has happened, etc.), anger, resentment (which results in a “getting even with you” relationship), worry, guilt, jealousy, suspicion, fatigue (which is the result of not redeeming ones time so you become over tired). Also there may be a misunderstanding of the sexual responsibility as noted above. So when you see sexual difficulties creeping in your marital life check these issues in your life, find God’s answer and correct your life according to the Bible for real biblical peaceful change for the glory of God.

What you will generally find in most instances is that the sexual aspect of marriage does not need to be focused upon to restore your marriage or the marriage of a couple you may be helping in resolving sexual difficulties. When we focus on biblical answers and seek God’s word to overcome biblical anger, resentment, jealously, fear and fatigue then our total self is healed in Christ by the Word and Holy Spirit. Since sex and its difficulties are a result of relationship problems then when we work on these issues and correct our relationships the bad sexual habits go away. God's way in the sexual aspect of our relationship with our spouse then becomes the godly norm in our marriages.

Often we find forgivness given to us quickly from our spouses in the areas of sin we have been harboring. That is great! That is a blessing! It is wonderful to live forgiven in Christ and forgiven by men. It is only then that we can move on to building a great relationship. But, let me say here as a warning, and because it is important, that due of the intensity of sex in a relationship we need to make sure we move past forgiveness and "quick sex" after forgivness to establishing measured goals to make sure we are truly building personal relationships with our spouses which includes a foundation of love and care toward he or she. We are to use Biblical discernment in building our personal relationships with each other to make sure they are godly strong and stable in accordance with God’s word. Our relationships need to be built on biblical building blocks and not on just emotional and physical release caused by purely physical methods. Realtionships properly built can stand the storms of life that the “thornes and thistles” so often bring our way.

To help you keep your relationship biblically healthy there is one important daily principal that needs to be observed in all marriages. That principal is found in Ephesians 4: 26 “let not the sun go down on your wrath”. As someone has said the Apostle Paul in the Bible is stating that we are to keep a short account of any wrongs. You may and can get angry for righteous causes, but all is to be communicated and hopefully corrected and forgiven with reconciliation prior to bedtime and sleep on that day. This keeps our relationships strong and healthy for we are then walking through the open doors reconciliation brings so that we can build on our previously enhanced love and devotion to one another.

All of your married life is to be regarded as a sexual relationship. If what you do in your marriage effects your physical time together then it must be understood biblically that you are one in all aspects and matters in your relationship with your spouse. Therefore your relationship is sexual. All that is done in the marriage will effect the physical act and desire for intimate relationships with your mate. Issues of fear, anger, hate, etc. would need to be overcome according to the biblical standards and directions. When done the sexual relations become natural.

What if you find that in your life you are dealing with sexual guilt from your past then the question arises, "Do I speak to my spouse about the past issue?". Some say why do I need to allow my wife to know? It’s my guilt let me bear it! Usually most people come with these apprehensions and questions out of fear of the possible consequences. They have real genuine concern. However, biblically we are told that one cannot succeed in life if sins are hidden. Prov 28:13 “He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy.” In the long run continuing to hide these problems causes destruction in relationships; in this case between you and your spouse causing grave problems between the two of you. You see in marriage the two are now one. Your guilt is no longer just yours. You need to understand that these things will surface in time. There is no privacy in marriage both being one. One mate’s problems are the problems of both. We need to remember this basic reality of marriage. Your guilt affects you spouse. Do I tell my spouse? The answer to this is yes. Can it be difficult? Yes. But lets be reminded in Prov. 20:30 that difficulty in situations that are dealt with cause change. Prov 20:30 “Stripes that wound cleanse away evil; And strokes [reach] the innermost parts.” Painful experiences in the end and are to be seen as growth to the glory of God the Father.

Communication must be spoken in truth and in this communication the desires of repentance and forgiveness asked for. We must communicate in such a manner that we let it be known that we want healing in our relationships to take place. It must be spoken of the in the context that repentance has been and is being accomplished. It must be communicated that you have and / or are seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. Once again the biblical principal here is that in the marriage the two are one. The spouse is not alone. What they do effects the other in the family. Therefore there is need to share with your spouse anything that comes in as a wedge in your marriage relationship so that biblical change and healing can take place. This will affect sexual relations in the marriage positively.

IV. The Issue of Sin of Masturbation, Sexual Control and Family Beginnings:

Another question that comes up often in discussions of sexual difficulties is usually stated as such: Is masturbation sin? There does not seem to be any direct scriptures regarding this question, however we are not to be left in the dark because other passages give us a clear answer to this question. Many have tried to link Gen 38:9 to the sin of masturbation however the issue there is not the sin of masturbation but of not raising up children to the wife of the deceased brother according to the Leverite marriage law in Deut 25:5-6. There are other passages of scripture which clearly teach that masturbation is not to be done. We turn first to the passage of 1 Cor. 6:12 where Paul states he will not be mastered or controlled by anything.
1 Cor 6:12 “All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any.” In this passage Paul is stating that even if something is correct to do it is still not to master a person and hold them in bondage. We know that masturbation gets a grip or a hold on those who practice it. Young people are observed distancing themselves from family relations to perform masturbation. It causes disruptions in marriages both of a social and a sexual nature. I have personally known many couples not having a marital sexual relationship because one or both parties are controlled by masturbation. Masturbation is a controlling in the lives of those who practice it.

In the course of befriending youth you will understand that this is a great issue in their lives. Many become trapped by it very quickly. The sinful effects are numerous, the entrapment is unreal. Fantasies, guilt and shame are things that squelch the precious life from these young “socialites”. The entrapment can be so that the grip of masturbation causes many to perform the act many, and I do mean many, times a day. To be controlled by anything in this manner is wrong, therefore sin and dangerous to the person entrapped, their friends and family and their marriage. .

Secondly, masturbation and lust is inseparably linked together. The person or persons who practice masturbation lusts in his or her mind. It is not uncommon for the person to fantasize about the lady or gentleman next door, a best friends spouse, the ladies or men seen in magazines, etc. Our Lord said that to lust in the heart (mind) is to commit adultery.

5:27-28 “Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

Therefore according to Jesus and with the knowledge we have of this “beast” we must recognize this a sin. There is more adultery (and murder) committed in the heart (mind) there are ever actually physically committed. Like murder in the heart many of these adulteries take place because of the practice of masturbation.

The Apostle Paul says that that if there is no sexual control then it is better to marry. 1Cor. 7:9 “But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.” Paul does not say that masturbation is proper sexual relief for the body, he does not say it is better to masturbate than to burn with sexual desire. What he does say is that it is better to marry than to burn. This is very clear. Self-sex or masturbation is not a solution to remain unmarried, even until you are educated and or set in your career. If there is no self-control then marriage is your answer, the alternative is clear, and lets step up that process and seek to covenant yourself with a godly mate.

Masturbation is definitely wrong since it constitutes a perversion of the sexual act. Sexuality does not exist for me (1 Cor. 7:3-4). It does not exist for my own pleasure. God has provided sex for the partner He has or will gives us. This is fundamental - we are not given the rights of our own bodies. God in His infinite wisdom directs our bodies in how we are to work them and how we are to perform and function with our body parts both prior to marriage and after marriage. The body must be used prior to marriage in purity and in post marriage for the purposes laid down in scripture as stated above. You must also be aware of the sexual temperature of your bodies and direct yourself accordingly as a good steward of that which God has given to you. If you cannot control sexually then marriage rather than sin is the answer.

Parents it is here that we need to realize that if our children are becoming sexually aware and there is difficulty of sexual control in them then God forbid we make them wait years down the road for marriage. We are to be teaching and leading them to have self control amd [personal discipline. However if that is not realistic then the young adults need to get on with marriage and start their family in obedience to God and His Word. In our society today adults, even Christians, push the sexual openness issue without even realizing it. We push for our precious Johnny and gorgeous Suzy to get through college and the masters programs for a great job and then establish a career before thinking of getting married. We get caught up in the “thing” society is doing as a norm and we seek to push back the real normal biblical sexual marital relationships till mid-late twenties or early thirties. Well, hormones are working, the body is getting older, and the young adults are doing what their body is calling them to do; which is to seek sexual relief either in masturbation or sexual relationships. If, and in most cases there are, sexual relations that will happen. It is then that Suzy gets pregnant and therefore the option for abortion comes to mind. You get the picture! In reality God’s call for Johnny and Suzy is to get married (1Cor 7) not commit fornication so as not to risk the chance of nor the option of killing an innocent victim.

We older adults have not trained our children in the area of “body works and its call for marriage”. We have trained them to “subdue body works” for the sake of education and career. “Marriage and sexuality must come later”, we say. God help us! As the body matures we need to prepare their minds for marriage in priority over “formal education and formal careers”. We need not put this type of sexual pressure upon our children. Masturbation, by the way, is one of many of the effects of the great sexual pressures that society today puts its young adults.

Masturbation is nothing more than self-sex. Self-sex is not biblical. This entrapment can be overcome in Christ. You can be delivered. This is not a unique temptation and many other believers throughout history and the world have had to seek the scriptures in a practical manner to overcome their temptation. We have the Holy Spirit and his Word to give us direction and power. What then do we do to suppress this in our lives or in helping others to overcome this problem?:

a. The first thing is to realize as has been stated above that sex and sexual relations are not for self gratification but are for God ordained purposes. Therefore to have self-sex is sin. This basic recognition is important for the changing process in the life of a Christian who is mastered or controlled by this sin.

b. You now need to begin to see the biblical sexual relations in the light of the Bible and in the way and purposes to which God has established them. You need to look at sex from God’s point of view.

c. Next you will need to put into practice loving God and glorifying Him by keeping in step with the ways which He has established for his creation in all areas of life and especially in the area sex.

In doing this you are truly repenting and turning to the Lord from this area of sin in your life. This biblical love for God will move you by his Word and Spirit not to practice masturbation.
Now you may also need to do some practical radical adjustments in your life to help you resist and restrain the temptation in order not to commit this sinful practice.

It is also important that you seek a Christian friend that will help you and hold you accountable for your actions. You also may want to seek guidance from the pastor or elders or their wives if there are no spiritual people in your Church you are aware of that can help you. If you look to Christian friends oe a special member of the Church make sure they are mature enough to guide you biblically. Since sex is a powerful pull on a persom you will especially need these people if you find yourself struggling and know that you could possibly stumble. It is important to use the Church both in fellowship and gifts to help move us to discipline and godliness.

VI. Homosexuality And Deliverance:

In our society the sin of homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle is pushed upon each of us either to experiment wit or accept it as normal sexual practice. We are called on in the corporate world to accept diversity. Diversity is a term used excessively by the proponents of the gay rights movement to manipulate people to accept the homosexual lifestyle. Many Christians are accepting homosexuality as a genetic disorder and therefore many Christians are stating that homosexuality cannot be helped. It is seen by some that homosexuals are, “just different from us”, “they have just another life style”, “ that is just the way they do things”, “this is their way of practicing their sexuality”, or “they are intelligent and are just more open”, etc.

The Bible calls homosexuality a sin. But it is not a sin that one has to live with. In 1 Cor. 6:11 Paul stated that some saints at Corinth had practiced homosexuality along with other sins but that in Christ they had been cleansed from these sins and had been sanctified.

1Cor 6:9-11 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

They were clean and separated from these sins being translated into the kingdom of God and His righteousness. They now inherit the kingdom of God. Notice these people previously performed the sins but in Christ they were delivered and found that they no longer did their previous sins. They were delievered! What I have ran into lately is the teaching that there is to be a distinguishing factor between the homosexual act and the homosexual desire. Christians are calling the act itself a sin but not the desire. It goes something like this, “You are a sinner. Therefore repent of sin believe in Christ and do not practice the sin of homosexuality. I am sorry your desire will still be there but at least you will not be sinning.” Well this creates a problem if you follow this thought for you allow a person to burn in sexual lust always having a physical desire for sexual activity of the homosexual type.

With this thinking the person will always be where God does not intend them to be and that is without peace of mind and in a non-fulfilled relationship. This can never be, for that person will probably fall back to that lifestyle for he has not really been “delivered” from the sin of it but just from the “act”. That person who lives in this manner never has the joy and peace from the Holy Spirit that comes from being in the kingdom of God. He or she will eventually go back to the homosexual community. We need to understand that Jesus taught that sin in the heart as he described with both adultery and murder is also there with homosexual desires. Not only is the act sin but so is the desire (Rom 1:27). So in the heart of the homosexual who is “just not practicing” still has sin in his heart. There is no deliverance in this at all. There is no “but such as were some of you” in this non-biblical teaching. The life they live will be one of sin of desire bringing constant pain and hurt and therefore no real deliverance. They would live with an “it could be better” mentality instead of “it is great to be clean and set apart from the sins of the past” which leads to rejoicing and great praise to the God of salvation. If there is no true deliverance from the practice and desire of homosexuality then the heart still has an idol – homosexuality. The person is still in their sin. But let me be clear we must not hold to this most disturbing thinking for real salvation and conversion destroys those idols and turns one to serve God in all areas of life, sexuality included.

If both the act and the desire is sin then how can one overcome this great life controlling sin. First acknowledge that homosexuality is sin Rom 1:27 (see total context). Homosexuality is spoken of as being a degrading passion, an indecent act, and error, an activity of a depraved mind and it is declared an activity worthy of death. The person needs to understand that it is a horrible sin, and that it must be repented of. (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1; 1Cor. 6:11; 1 Tim 1:10). In every biblical passage homosexuality is considered sin. It is an unacceptable way of life. It is something to be repented of. It is in Christ by the Word and the Spirit that deliverance both in act and desire can be accomplished.

We also need to understand that to the homosexual offender wse can hold out hope to them. Christ is the answer! 1Cor 6:11 Christ washes the person. This is the starting point. We need to call the person to a faith in Christ that brings complete washing and sanctification. This faith in Christ is: Christ as Lord of all of life even sexuality. This is true evangelization, God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing men’s sins against them, but imputing his righteousness to them and giving them the Holy Spirit, the word, the church, prayer and fellowship. It is in all of this that there is a work of God for change and continued help and growth in the grace of deliverance bestowed upon the believer. Christ delivers the sinner and sanctifies them setting them apart to Himself both in heart or mind and in a change of conduct or lifestyle practices. The gospel of grace to the one needing help is the starting point for the life changing grace of God. God’s grace changes the liar, the drunkard, the adulterer, the thief and the homosexual the same way: through conversion that comes through evangelization. This is the starting point of hope..Also the person that comes to Christ needs to know that they are not the only people in history that have had to deal with that particular sin but that many in history have. We have already mentioned that some in the Corinthian church had desired and practiced that sin prior to conversion. Also we can let them know that there is no temptation that is unique only to them but whatever that temptation is there is a promise of full deliverance.

1Cor 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (it).” Even in the “worst temptation” you are not alone for Christ is with you and He will provide you with a way of escape.

We have the promise of this. All sin can be restrained and resisted by the power of the Holy Spirit and the being obedient to the Word. God never leaves us alone. You are not by yourself and you are given biblical direction how to resist and restrain sin and its harmful consequences.

Once someone comes to Christ they need to be taught in his Word. There needs to be teaching structured around them in discipleship so that they can learn to by the power of the Holy Spirit put away the old man and his habits and put on the new man and Christ’s holy habits. There needs to be teaching and discipleship concerning biblical sexuality, the need for separation from the world and its influences, and other things in the Bible which touch life that affects godly l

VII. New Believers And Disciplship:

1. Teach the need for breaking with past associations that would continue to feed temptations.

2. Teaching of the need for worship and church attendance

3. Teach Bible reading and study = so that you can learn of God and His ways in a systematic and orderly manner.

4. Teach family matters.

5. Instruct in what friendship is and the need to establish new friends

6. Instruct in the need to witness

7. You will want to establish new friends understanding biblical friendship.

8. Money matters will need to be taught

9. There needs to be instruction understanding that sin and sickness can be linked together

10. The instruction in rescheduling activities in order to go to places and do activities that are healthy and wholesome.

11. The need to learn to put no more emphasis upon sexual experiences than God puts upon them in the Bible.

12. Also instruction in the gift the covenant of marriage, sex, and family.

VIII. Conclusion

There is hope and deliverance in Christ in all sexual sins. Sexual difficulties people face are really not that difficult. They do seem difficult if you are struggling with sexual sins. All sexual difficulties are relational. Heterosexual difficulties result in improper role functions and sinful habits and practices established in the marriage (relationship to God and to spouse is improper). Difficulties for the ones trapped in masturbation is a relational issue which is nonconforming to God’s ways therefore sex is directed to self (the relation to God and to self is improper). For the homosexual the relationships are improper with sex being turned to the same sex (relationship to God and to others of the same sex is improper). Finding out that these relationships are improper and seeking to establish proper relationships in Christ will resolve the sexual difficulties. Much more could be said about sexual difficulties. I do hope that this is enough to show that God and his word is powerful enough and sufficient to guide you into peace and comfort as you are fully delivered from sexual sins you may be struggling with.

Oh Lord, grant us to learn of You and Your answers that we may be filled with all joy, peace and righteousness to Your glory. And may our relationships with God, our spouses, ourselves and others be proper so that we not sin against the God our Creator! Amen

Infants In The Celestial City!

2006-03-25T18:31:00.000-05:00

Heavenly Infants

By Steve

Dear Christian parent one can’t begin to express the sorrow felt for the loss of yours or of any infant in death. Many have come to visit over the years to talk about whether the infant is in the presence of God or not. Some were quite assured that their child was in the presence of the Lord Jesus but others were just not sure. Then there were some Christian parents that just were not sure, had never been sure and lived in fear that they may never see their infant again. There is not a window that we can look into heaven to see where infants are after they die, but there is a book called the Bible that clearly gives the answer concerning where the infants of Christians parents are after they pass from this world. If you’re assured of your infant being with the Lord continue to read this article and be renewed in your assurance. If you have doubts or have never understood where the infant is then this is for you. When you read this and understand the teaching of God concerning infants of Christians then your heart should be troubled no more.

“Why the death of my small innocent boy or girl baby?” you may be continuing to ask yourself. “How can it be that my “innocent” baby died?” “Why Did God take him or her from me?” Some of these questions cannot be answered.

But why death happens can be answered. .Some may respond that their infant was “innocent and never sinned” and therefore not guilty until they commit an actual act of sin. God lets us know that this is not so. God lets parents know that all men are guilty of sin from conception. In this life all of the reasons for God calling the child home will never be known. What is known though is that we live in a world wherein there is sin and it has consequences. The Bible teaches that all persons since our first parents Adam and Eve are born and conceived in this state of sin. In the beginning the first parent Adam brought sin into the world and with it came death and misery such as you have experienced in the death of your infant. “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-- for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” (Rom 5:12-14) Death will come to all of us as it has come to your infant for the simple reason that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). The infant, like all of us still living were conceived in iniquity, and in sin their mother and father conceived them (Ps. 51:5). Death came upon them due to the fact of the guilt of sin upon them. It will come upon us due to our guilt as well.

The child that died in infancy that, being of the covenant is with the Lord!

Even though death came to your child because of sin that is in this world that does not mean that your child is not with the Lord. For the Christian parent there is not one reason you should doubt that the infant child which died is saved and with the Lord Jesus. The believing parent has as their spiritual father Abraham. Therefore you are entered into a covenant relationship with God and therefore you have the promises of the covenant placed upon you and your family. Gen 17:7 “… I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” Therefore your child that died in infancy is with the Lord since your children are included in the covenant of grace. This blessing is shown in the Bible in several ways:

By God’s statements to Abraham that includes the rite of circumcision which proves that the children of believers are included in the covenant. Circumcision was the rite that signified the covenant relationship. God says in Gen 17:7 “… I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”

By Peter’s statement in his sermon at Pentecost clearly placed the children of believers in the covenant of grace. Act 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

By the purpose of God in marriage between believers is to produce a godly offspring. Mal 2:15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.

By the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 7:14-16 affirms that the children of unbelieving parents are “unclean”. But if even one parent believes the children are included in the covenant and even called “holy”.

There are Bible examples of this hope and certainty of reunion which the covenant brings. Here are a couple.

A. First is the account of King David wherein he was unburdened and comforted by the knowledge that his child was not lost forever but he would be with the Lord and they would be reunited. Note what he said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Sam. 12:23).

B. Secondly we have the account where Jeremiah prophesied (31:15-17) and gave evidence that the infants which were murdered in Bethlehem by the orders of King Herod (Matt. 2:16-18) were not forever lost but were in the presence of God and they and their parents would be reunited. Jeremiah stated the Lord’s declaration in his prophesy, “there is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country”.

Thus says the LORD: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more." Thus says the LORD: "Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country. (Jer 31:15-17)

Therefore do not doubt the salvation of any of your children that died in infancy. Take comfort in the promise of God, in the examples contained within scripture and in the peace which comes from knowing the Lord Jesus personally. Rest assured that since you are a member of the covenant your and your children are a part of God’s decree of election, saved by the finished work of the shed blood of Christ. Therefore, beloved brethren rest that your dear infant is now in heaven “with Christ, which is far better” (Phil 1:23). He or she is a true “heavenly infants”! Oh parent, look for the day of Christ’s return. Await oh, blessed ones. There is coming a day of reunions. On that glorious day of the return of Our Lord you will be before your Savior and be restored unto your beloved child. Oh, what joys inexpressible and gull of glory. !

Some Applicable Scriptural References:

1. In comparing these Scripture together one understands that children of believing parents that die in infancy are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and saved by Christ.

Luk 18:15-16 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. (16) But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

Act 2:38-39 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." …….. Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

1Jo 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Rom 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

2. The work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration is not something that is seen by human watching.

Joh 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

3. Any person in the covenant who is incapable of being called by the normal means through the visible church by the preaching of the word is saved by Christ, through a special work of the Holy Spirit.

1Jo 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Act 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

4. Children of believers are called holy.

1Co 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

Mal 2:15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.

THE SUM OF SAVING KNOWLEDGE

2006-03-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

THE SUM OF SAVING KNOWLEDGE

HEAD I.

Our woeful condition by nature, through breaking the covenant of works. Hos. 13:9. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself.

I. THE almighty and eternal God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three distinct persons in the one and the same undivided Godhead, equally infinite in all perfections, did, before time, most wisely decree, for his own glory, whatsoever cometh to pass in time: and doth most holily and infallibly execute all his decrees, without being partaker of the sin of any creature.

II. This God, in six days, made all things of nothing, very good in their own kind: in special, he made all the angels holy; and he made our first parents, Adam and Eve, the root of mankind, both upright and able to keep the law written in their heart. Which law they were naturally bound to obey under pain of death; but God was not bound to reward their service, till he entered into a covenant or contract with them, and their posterity in them, to give them eternal life, upon condition of perfect personal obedience; withal threatening death in case they should fail. This is the covenant of works.

III. Both angels and men were subject to the change of their own free will, as experience proved, (God having reserved to himself the incommunicable property of being naturally unchangeable:) for many angels of their own accord fell by sin from their first estate, and became devils. Our first parents, being enticed by Satan, one of these devils speaking in a serpent, did break the covenant of works, in eating the forbidden fruit; whereby they, and their posterity, being in their loins, as branches in the root, and comprehended in the same covenant with them, became not only liable to eternal death, but also lost all ability to please God; yea, did become by nature enemies to God, and to all spiritual good, and inclined only to evil continually. This is our original sin, the bitter root of all our actual transgressions, in thought, word, and deed.

HEAD II.

The remedy provided in Jesus Christ for the elect by t
he covenant of grace. Hos. 13:9. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

I. ALBEIT man, having brought himself into this woeful condition, be neither able to help himself, nor willing to be helped by God out of it, but rather inclined to lie still, insensible of it, till he perish; yet God, for the glory of his rich grace, hath revealed in his word a way to save sinners, viz. by faith in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, by virtue of, and according to the tenor of the covenant of redemption, made and agreed upon between God the Father and God the Son, in the council of the Trinity, before the world began.

II. The sum of the covenant of redemption is this: God having freely chosen unto life a certain number of lost mankind, for the glory of his rich grace, did give them, before the world began, unto God the Son, appointed Redeemer, that, upon condition he would humble himself so far as to assume the human nature, of a soul and a body, unto personal union with his divine nature, and submit himself to the law, as surety for them, and satisfy justice for them, by giving obedience in their name, even unto the suffering of the cursed death of the cross, he should ransom and redeem them all from sin and death, and purchase unto them righteousness and eternal life, with all saving graces leading thereunto, to be effectually, by means of his own appointment, applied in due time to every one of them. This condition the Son of God (who is Jesus Christ our Lord) did accept before the world began, and in the fulness of time came into the world, was born of the Virgin Mary, subjected himself to the law, and completely paid the ransom on the cross: But by virtue of the foresaid bargain, made before the world began, he is in all ages, since the fall of Adam, still upon the work of applying actually the purchased benefits unto the elect; and that he doth by way of entertaining a covenant of free grace and reconciliation with them, through faith in himself; by which covenant, he makes over to every believer a right and interest to himself, and to all his blessings.

III. For the accomplishment of this covenant of redemption, and making the elect partakers of the benefits thereof in the covenant of grace, Christ Jesus was clad with the threefold office of Prophet, Priest, and King: made a Prophet, to reveal all saving knowledge to his people, and to persuade them to believe and obey the same; made a Priest, to offer up himself a sacrifice once for them all, and to intercede continually with the Father, for making their persons and services acceptable to him; and made a King, to subdue them to himself, to feed and rule them by his own appointed ordinances, and to defend them from their enemies.

HEAD III.

The outward means appointed to make the elect partakers of this covenant, and all the rest that are called, to be inexcusable. Matt. 22:14. Many are called.

I. THE outward means and ordinances, for making men partakers of the covenant of grace, are so wisely dispensed, as that the elect shall be infallibly converted and saved by them; and the reprobate, among whom they are, not to be justly stumbled: The means are especially these four. 1. The word of God. 2. The sacraments. 3. Kirk-government. 4. Prayer. In the word of God preached by sent messengers, the Lord makes offer of grace to all sinners, upon condition of faith in Jesus Christ; and whosoever do confess their sin, accept of Christ offered, and submit themselves to his ordinances, he will have both them and their children received into the honour and privileges of the covenant of grace. By the sacraments, God will have the covenant sealed for confirming the bargain on the foresaid condition. By kirk-government, he will have them hedged in, and helped forward unto the keeping of the covenant. And by prayer, he will have his own glorious grace, promised in the covenant, to be daily drawn forth, acknowledged, and employed. All which means are followed either really, or in profession only, according to the quality of the covenanters, as they are true or counterfeit believers.

II. The covenant of grace, set down in the Old Testament before Christ came, and in the New since he came, is one and the same in substance, albeit different in outward administration: For the covenant in the Old Testament, being sealed with the sacraments of circumcision and the paschal lamb, did set forth Christ's death to come, and the benefits purchased thereby, under the shadow of bloody sacrifices, and sundry ceremonies: but since Christ came, the covenant being sealed by the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper, doth clearly hold forth Christ already crucified before our eyes, victorious over death and the grave, and gloriously ruling heaven and earth, for the good of his own people.

HEAD IV.

The blessings which are effectually conveyed by these means to the Lord's elect, or chosen ones. Matt. 22:14. Many are called, but few are chosen.

I. BY these outward ordinances, as our Lord makes the reprobate inexcusable, so, by the power of his Spirit, he applies unto the elect, effectually, all saving graces purchased to them in the covenant of redemption, and maketh a change in their persons. In particular, 1. He doth convert or regenerate them, by giving spiritual life to them, in opening their understandings, renewing their wills, affections, and faculties, for giving spiritual obedience to his commands. 2. He gives them saving faith, by making them, in the sense of deserved condemnation, to give their consent heartily to the covenant of grace, and to embrace Jesus Christ unfeignedly. 3. He gives them repentance, by making them, with godly sorrow, in the hatred of sin, and love of righteousness, turn from all iniquity to the service of God. And, 4. He sanctifies them, by making them go on and persevere in faith and spiritual obedience to the law of God, manifested by fruitfulness in all duties, and doing good works, as God offereth occasion.

II. Together with this inward change of their persons, God changes also their state: for, so soon as they are brought by faith into the covenant of grace, 1. He justifies them, by imputing unto them that perfect obedience which Christ gave to the law, and the satisfaction also which upon the cross Christ gave unto justice in their name. 2. He reconciles them, and makes them friends to God, who were before enemies to God. 3. He adopts them, that they shall be no more children of Satan, but children of God, enriched with all spiritual privileges of his sons. And, last of all, after their warfare in this life is ended, he perfects the holiness and blessedness, first of their souls at their death, and then both of their souls and their bodies, being joyfully joined together again in the resurrection, at the day of his glorious coming to judgment, when all the wicked shall be sent away to hell, with Satan; whom they have served: but Christ's own chosen and redeemed ones, true believers, students of holiness, shall remain with himself for ever, in the state of glorification.

What does it mean to be born again? (A Must Read)

2006-03-24T18:51:00.000-05:00

Regeneration - What does it mean to be born again?

By Wayne A. Grudem

EXPLANATION AND SCRIPTURAL BASIS

We may define regeneration as follows: Regeneration is a secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us. This is sometimes called "being born again" (using language from John 3:3-8).

Regeneration Is Totally a Work of God

In some of the elements of the application of redemption that we discuss in subsequent chapters, we play an active part (this is true, for example, of conversion, sanctification and perseverance). But in the work of regeneration, we play no active role at all. It is instead totally a work of God. We see this, for example, when John talks about those to whom Christ gave power to become children of God -- they "were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). Here john specifies that children of God are those who are "born ...of God" and our human will ("the will of man") does not bring about this kind of birth. The fact that we are passive in regeneration is also evident when Scripture refers to it as being "born" or "born again" (cf. James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3; John 3:3-8). We did not choose to be made physically alive and we did not choose to be born -- it is something that happened to us; similarly, these analogies in Scripture suggest that we are entirely passive in regeneration.

This sovereign work of God in regeneration was also predicted in the prophesy of Ezekiel. Through him God promised a time in the future when he would give new spiritual to his people:

A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. (Ezek 36:26-27)

Which member of the Trinity is the one who causes regeneration? When Jesus speaks of being "born of the Spirit" (John 3:8), he indicates that it is especially God the Holy Spirit who produces regeneration. But other verses also indicate the involvement of God the Father in regeneration: Paul specifies that it is God who “made us alive together with Christ" (Eph 2:5; cf. Col 2:13). And James says that it is the "father of lights “who gave us new birth: "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures" (James 1:17-18). Finally, Peter says that God "according to his abundant mercy has given us new birth ...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3, author's translation). We can conclude that both God the Father and God the Holy Spirit bring about regeneration.

What is the connection between effective calling and regeneration? As we will see later in this chapter, Scripture indicates that regeneration must come before we can respond to effective calling with saving faith. Therefore we can say that regeneration comes before the result of effective calling (our faith). But it is more difficult to specify the exact relationship in time between regeneration and the human proclamation of the gospel through which God works in effective calling. At least two passages suggest that God regenerates us at the same time as he speaks to us in effective calling. Peter says, "You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.... That word is the good news which was preached to you" (1 Peter 1:23, 35). And James says, "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth" (James 1:18 NIV). As the gospel comes to us, God speaks through it to summon us to himself (effective calling) and to give us new spiritual life (regeneration) so that we are enabled to respond in faith. Effective calling is thus God the Father speaking powerfully to us, and regeneration is God the Father and God the Holy Spirit working powerfully in us, to make us alive. These two things must have happened simultaneously as Peter was preaching the gospel to the household of Cornelius, for while he was still preaching "the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word' (Acts 10:44).

Sometimes the term irresistible grace is used in this connection. It refers to the fact that God effectively calls people and also gives them regeneration, and both actions guarantee that we will respond in saving faith. The term irresistible grace is subject to misunderstanding, however, since it seems to imply that people do not make a voluntary, willing choice in responding to the gospel--a wrong idea, and a wrong understanding of the term irresistible grace. The term does preserve something valuable, however, because it indicates that God's work reaches into out hearts to bring about a response that is absolutely certain-- even though we respond voluntarily....(see Eph 2:1, 5; John 3:3, 7, 8; Col 2:13; 2 Cor 5:17)

In This Sense of "Regeneration," It Comes Before Saving Faith

Using the verses quoted above, we have defined regeneration to be the act of God awakening spiritual life within us, bringing us from spiritual death to spiritual life. On this definition, it is natural to understand that regeneration comes before saving faith. It is in fact this work of God that gives us the spiritual ability to respond to God in faith. However, when we say that it comes "before" saving faith, it is important to remember that they usually come so close together that it will ordinarily seem to us that they are happening at the same time. As God addresses the effective call of the gospel to us, he regenerates us as we respond in faith and repentance to this call. So from our perspective it is hard to tell any difference in time, especially because regeneration is a spiritual work that we cannot perceive with our eyes or even understand with our minds. (Scriptural passages John 3:5; John 6:44, 65; Acts 16:14; Eph 2:4-5; Col 2:13).

The idea that regeneration comes before saving faith is not always understood by evangelicals today. Sometimes people will even say something like, "If you believe in Christ as your Savior, then (after you believe) you will be born again." But Scripture itself never says anything like that. The new birth is viewed by Scripture as something that God does within us in order to enable us to believe.... if we are to use language that closely conforms to the actual wording of Scripture, it would be better to restrict the word "regeneration" to the instantaneous, initial work of God in which he imparts spiritual life to us.

Excerpts Taken from Systematic Theology by Wayne A. Grudem. Copyright© 1994 by Wayne Grudem.

2006-03-23T07:51:00.000-05:00

Ok Guys the next great blog site is............................. http://worldviewanalysis.blogspot.com/

Please go to it read it and bookmark it. It is new but many of us have known Clayton online for a few years now and we expect him to be his normal self and with that we get exciting and provocative discussion and comment.

Sincerely,
Steve

The Keys! Who Has Them?

2006-03-23T00:24:00.000-05:00

The Keys ! Who Has Them?

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I was on line in a chat room two nights ago with about 40 people and was shocked that very few of the people seemed to know very much about the Keys of the kingdom and the work of them amongst ordained men. I was surprised when many commented in text that" a pastor is just another man". I submit to you that we all need to hold pastors worthy of double honor. Also i want to say that you and I that are not ordained do not nor can we do the job of using the keys of the kingdom. Please read what I have put together and if we need to talk let's discuss this more on line. God bless you ..... Steve

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I find it unfortunate that there have been two extremes errors regarding the keys of the kingdom. The first error, not necessarily the greatest error, is the extreme is that Peter and Church leaders after him received absolute unquestioned authority. The second equally extreme error is that the Peter and Church leaders (elders) receives little or no authority at all. The first view is taken by the Roman Catholic Church and implies that Peter and all his successors have all the authority in the Church. This has lead to more errors than we could even dare to mention here since volumes have been written on those errors. The second does not really see ministers nor the Church with any real authority in ones life. It opens the door to going to church “if I feel like it”, the sin of not giving honor to the elders, nor seeing and understanding the call of God and ordination to a man as hardly anything at all. There is little to no acknowledgement (usually none) that one is to “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls”.

Mat 16:18-19 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (19) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Neither of the extremes are correct for the men that lead the Church are called of God, working under His authority, and in their call and ministry “whatever (they) bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever (they) loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" is their ministry.

In this writing I am more concerned with the second extreme. That extreme creates many a problem. One is that without ecclesiastical authority and proper biblical processes of discipline Christians go around stating that others are not Christians for many different reasons. Each person seeks to take unto themselves the keys of the kingdom. This should not be so. It leads to vigilante, independent Christianity since there is no authority but “my own” as I privately read and interpret the Bible for and by myself. The problems taken own are making judgments by oneself without question or accountability from anyone with true ecclesiastical authority. Many times it causes people to bear false witness against one another and leads to fights and disputes. And so on this goes.

Now opposed to the concerned extremes I mentioned above the scripture is clear that Jesus is head of the church. The government of the Church is upon His shoulders as Isaiah stated: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6)

The confession of Peter in Matt 16:16-19 is the one Christian confession which is the very foundation of the Church. After stating his confession and Jesus commenting upon it Jesus conferred upon Peter official church authority, obligations; and responsibilities regarding administrating the keys of the kingdom.

Mat 16:16-19 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

The authority conferred upon Peter in the administering the keys of the kingdom as a man called of God is also to be exercised by all the officials of the Church since they too are called of God and ordained to this duty. Christ has appointed a Church that is presbyterial in form. The administration of the constitution of the Church, the Bible, is carried through ordained officers called elders, presbyters, or bishops. (Acts 15; 1 Tim 5:17; Acts 20:17,28) The elders of the Church have been given power and authority which resides in the keys of the kingdom. Neither Peter nor any elder or group of elders have unquestioned power and authority. But they do have official Church authority, divinely called obligations and responsibilities to the Lord and to the Church in the office of administration of the keys of the kingdom. The administration of the keys by the elders throughout history in the past and in the future have the same results Peter is described to have had. (compare Matt. 16:18-19;18:17-18; Jn. 20:21) Remember is the Lord that calls and ordains men to administrate His authority in the Church. (Eph.2:20; 1 Cor. 14:37; 2 PT. 3:17; Heb. 1:1,2)

1Co 12:28-29 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. (29) Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?

Eph 4:11-13 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, (12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (13) until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

Mat 18:17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Joh 20:21-23 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld."

Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

The keys are not their keys but the keys are owned by the Head of the Church who is Christ Jesus Her Lord who alone has the power to open or to close the kingdom of heaven since He has “the keys of Death and Hades” Rev. 1:18. The elders are called to administer Christ’s keys in the Church. They are the administrators of the power to open or close the kingdom of heaven to other men for a Christ said to them “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”. The keys are the preaching of the word of God and Church discipline. Both of which the elders of the Church are to administer.

The constitution of the Church is the Bible which is the inspired Scriptures which includes the sixty six books of the Old and New Testament: Genesis – Revelation. It is the only and supreme authority within the Church.

a. The Preaching of the Word of God

The preaching of the word is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe ( Rom 1:16; 1 Cor 1:18). When preached in truth and purity God opens the kingdom to believing sinners (John 3:16). Why does the preaching bring life? Because it is one of the keys of the kingdom given to the Church for this very reason!

The key of faithful preaching does not only open the kingdom. The key of faithful preaching also closes the kingdom to those that reject, are neglectful or are indifferent to the gospel message. In the pronouncement of the gospel the kingdom is either opened to a person or closed to a person. When the gospel is preached the keys to the “door of the kingdom turn” either in opening or closing the door of the kingdom to men.

b. Church Discipline

The second key is that of Church discipline. With this key “ a man that is a heretic after the first and second admonition reject” and when one will not hear the Church “let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector”. This is the actual administration by the power of Christ by which heaven is closed to a person unless they repent.

The key of Church discipline does not only close the kingdom. When faithfully administered it also opens the kingdom to the repentant sinner. (2 Cor. 2:6-8)

Finally lets note that the Scriptures do not lend themselves to individual aggression against thehereticks outside of Church authority.

It is important that we note that the letters in the New Testament by the apostle Paul and others are written to the Churches and therefore the church leadership was involved in all the divisive and heretical issues. Individuals did not make judgments out side of the ordained church leadership. Therefore the ordained men use the keys of the kingdom and instructing its “members” how to act and react. And they used the keys to perform regarding Church discipline. There are no independent “para church” vigilante Christians in the New Testament Scripture, the Christians took the instruction of the apostles and elders! We are to tak the instruction of the elders today as well, We are not to make judgmental calls ourselves. We cannot find people doing that in the scripture. Those that had the administration of the keys of the kingdom di make the judgments and then gave Christians instructions concerning the heresies in the first century church. These principles we do and can apply today in cases of heresy but the leadership still needs to ensure they have instructed us in what groups are non-christian since they have properly administered the keys of the kingdom.

Paul was clear in the Pastoral Epistles, as well as at Ephesians that the elders of the Church were to teach, instruct and warn watching out for the souls of the people of God (Acts 20; Heb. 13:17; etc.) Timothy, a called man of God was instructed by Paul to do the work of the ministry (using the keys) instructing the church, disciplining the deficient and negligent, being instant in and out of season, regarding error and apostasy doing the work of the ministry (using the keys). Paul told Titus that the mouths of the insubordinate and deceivers had to be stopped. (Titus1:11) How? By the use of the keys of the kingdom.. The church leaders are the ones that are to take the lead in these things as they watch for our souls. It is interesting that there is not one person that came forward with a doctrinal heresy but those called and ordained of God. I do believe that all hereseys are to be worked through te church and its ecclesiastical authority and never attacked and “pounced upon” by individual people of faith. It is just the job that the authorities have in their administration of the keys of the kingdom.

The Church at Rome was to avoid divisive persons. Again this is a Church discipline (key issue). Paul told the Church that Satan would be crushed under their feet shortly. Note the letter is to the church.

John instructed the lady in his second letter to beware of those that would come to her home that had the message of antichrist, She was not to show hospitality nor greet them at all.

Peter, wrote warning believers about those peddling false and damaging doctrine. He asked them to make their calling and election sure and to beware lest they too fall from their steadfastness. He called for them to grow in grace and knowledge. He did not call for them by themselves, in an independent fashion to take on those bringing false doctrine.

Titus, a minister of the keys of the kingdom, wrote instructing the Church concerning certain heretics. He used the keys exposing them (1:5.19) and ask the Christians to contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints to against them and the finally in watching for their souls instructed them in the necessity of “building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

May God give us the wisdom to have discernment to know our position in Christ’s kingdom and may we pray for those that watch for our souls, Also may we not sin in judging anyone prematurely and in the case of possible heresy get the info to our church leaders quickly so that the keys of the kingdom can do their work for the glory of God and the purity of His Bride!

Appendix A

Chapter 30: Of Church Censures

30:1 The Lord Jesus, as King and Head of His Church, hath therein appointed a government, in the hand of Church officers, distinct from the civil magistrate (Isa_9:6, Isa_9:7; Mat_28:18-20; Act_20:17, Act_20:28; 1Co_12:28; 1Th_5:12; 1Ti_5:17; Heb_13:7, Heb_13:17, Heb_13:24).

30:2 To these officers, the keys of the kingdom of heaven are committed: by virtue whereof, they have power respectively to retain, and remit sins; to shut that kingdom against the impenitent, both by the Word and censures; and to open it unto penitent sinners, by the ministry of the Gospel, and by absolution from censures, as occasion shall require (Mat_16:19; Mat_18:17, Mat_18:18; Joh_20:21-23; 2Co_2:6-8).

30:3 Church censures are necessary, for the reclaiming and gaining of offending brethren, for deterring of others from the like offences, for purging out of that leaven which might infect the whole lump, for vindicating the honour of Christ, and the holy profession of the Gospel, and for preventing the wrath of God, which might justly fall upon the Church, if they should suffer His covenant and the seals thereof to be profaned by notorious and obstinate offenders (Mat_7:6; 1Co_5:1-13; 1Co_11:27-34 with Jud_1:23; 1Ti_1:20; 1Ti_5:20).

30:4 For the better attaining of these ends, the officers of the Church are to proceed by admonition; suspension from the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper for a season; and by excommunication from the Church; according to the nature of the crime, and demerit of the person (Mat_18:17; 1Co_5:4, 1Co_5:5, 1Co_5:13; 1Th_5:12; 2Th_3:6, 2Th_3:14, 2Th_3:15; Tit_3:10).

How Is Your Conscience?

2006-03-21T07:57:00.002-05:00

How's Is Your Conscience?

Within the Bible it is easy to pick out 4 types of conscience. They are:

Seared Conscience
Untrained Conscience
Weak Conscience
Biblical Conscience

The Seared Conscience-

The seared conscience is a conscience that has been activated by biblical truth but, is no longer activated by biblical criteria. The conscience has no guilty feelings, see nor see any need for excusing what they do. It is this conscience that blasphemes the Holy Spirit. If one wants to see this type of conscience go visit a maxium security prision like the Red Onion Maximum Security prision in Southwest Virginia.

1 Tim 4:2

2. Untrained Conscience-

The untrained conscience has never been activated by biblical truth. Therefore those with untrained consciences do not have or have very few guilt feelings, they don’t make excuses for what they do since they don’t know the biblical way in doing things. The conscience is these folks can be remedied by being taught and trained in biblical truth. This conscience can be easily led to depression by reacting improperly to lifes issues.

Rom 1-3

3. Weak Conscience-

The weak conscience is activated by non biblical criteria. A weak conscience produces guilt feelings for the wrong reasons. These folks could have good standards they live by but have idols in their heart. They may do things for acceptance by God, to be accepted by the Church, to be loved by mom or dad, or in order to get something from God since that “bargained with Him. This conscience can and often is easily led to depression by reacting improperly to lifes issues.

Rom 14:1,2,23

4. Biblical Conscience-

These folks have a conscience activated by biblical truth. They have proper guilt feelings for the right reasons when they do wrong and sin. They are in the proper position to handle guilt and problems God’s way. These are the people inthe Church that have grown and are called "spiritual" by the Apostle Paul. (Gal 6:1)

2 Tim 3:16-17, 1 Tim. 1:5

May God grant us to have a biblically functional conscience by then grace, illumination and dynamic power of the Holy Spirit.

What To Do With Guilt

2006-03-17T23:19:00.000-05:00

What To Do With Guilt

Steve

While I do not have any data, I believe that many people that are depressed live with sin and guilt that has not been dealt with. I plan on submitting a blog on depression in the next few days and before I do that I wanted to give people reading this blog, which I am aware of deal with depression, some instruction toward starting to handle sin and guilt God’s way. There is a lot I could discuss about guilt such as why some never feel it or how non Christians could be forgiven but I prefer to focus upon my Brethern that love the Lord but who have not been trained in how to deal with the guilt. I want them to know what guilt is and how to handle guilt so as to get rid of it once and for all. In doing this they will become more productive people in the kingdom of God.

So what is guilt? Well one thing it is not is a feeling. While it is true one may, and often does, sense a feeling of guilt over sin and wrong doing it is not guaranteed. If one does not feel guilty he or she has still done wrong, is guilty, and therefore liable and culpable for the sin committed. Therefore guilt is the state of having committed wrongdoing or sin. Guilt is a judicial standing. Simply put, a person is guilty no matter how one feels. For example someone that steals a fifty dollar bill and is enjoying an evening at the local pub in drink and dance may not be "feeling guilty" but he or she is guilty and culpable. They have sinned against and offended a holy God.

Guilt not gotten rid of causes people to do many strange things. For example, have you ever been driving down a major highway at 78 miles per hour and see a police officer going down a side street? What do you do? You get on the brake! Even though he or she is not coming for you you hit that brake. Know why? Your guilty! Guilty people distort reality. Reality = not being pursued therefore no real reason to hit the brake. Does this remind you of the passage found in Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

A person living with and in guilt will find many different problems in life. First as mentioned is distortion of reality. Guilty people, improperly dealing with guilt, do and tell all kinds of things in seeking to escape reality. We have heard this many times in the news from the lies of our countries President to "cover ups" and blame shifting by men and women in our local neighborhoods. Guilt, handled improperly, is one primary reason that social relationships become hindered. People who handle guilt improperly give Satan a "seat in their problematic life, "giving place to the devil" (Eph. 4:26-27).

Secondly, one that is that living with unrepentant sin and in guilt emotional and physical problems are experienced. While it is true that many illnesses are not traceable to sin in the sick person but are just a part of a cursed world because of Adam's sin. It is also true that the Bible is clear that in some instances, a sick person's illness is due to his own sin and guilt. Examples of this in the Bible include David’s experiences of pressure, restlessness, burdens, sadness, weakness, and worry. And also Paul’s instruction in the New Testament when he spoke of coming to the table of the Lord in an unworthy manner causing weakness, sickness and even in cases death. “For he that drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” (Ps.32:1-5; 38: 1-8; I Cor. 11: 27-32; Jas. 5:13-16 ). These things could send one to a medical doctor and potentially to a doctor of psychiatry for some wrongly dispensed medicine.

Now, perhaps you have sinned and though being guilty you are handling it wrongly. Guilt not handled properly escalates sin and puts a person in a downward spiral which causes all kinds of problems, of which some have been noted, even leading to serious depression. You may be reacting wrongly by setting up a “pity party” and getting others on your side to agree with you in what your did or are doing, Or perhaps you have running and hiding or staying busy in order to seek to hide your guilt. Perhaps you have gone so far to deny sin and even God in this area of your life. Each of these responses are wrong and will just cause further problems. For example, "getting people on your side" leads to gossip and deception; "pushing aside” or seeking to hide guilt feelings by staying busy affects the family and home life; and denying sin, God and his word is to live atheistically. Knowing this I ask if you find yourself doing sin and / or have sinned and have not handled your guilt properly: “Will you accept liability and culpability or will you distort reality by making excuses, blaming others, etc. and give Satan a beach head in your life and in the situation you find yourself in?”

In order to honor and glorify God we need to know how guilt is to be gotten rid of biblically. Our Lord wants us to live in peace and holiness and be protected from Satan in the kingdom of God. Therefore, to protect us from Satan and his devices, our gracious Lord Jesus has directed us that it is so important deal with guilt that one may even need to leave worship for awhile in order to get this taken care of - "leave your gift before the alter.... be reconciled.. come offer" (Matt. 5:23-26).

So then we how are we to specifically handle guilt and culpability from our sin and wrongdoing? One thing is for sure the Christian cannot go to the secular psychologists in order to understand how to properly handle guilt. Freud, Skinner, Mowrer, Rogers, etc. do not have the answers!. If one listens to these guys they just hear excuses which have an end result that guilt is not real but that it is a "feeling" that you have. Guilt comes from "a bad set of genes". You have "low self esteem" and need reconditioned with yourself. But God’s word tells us what we are to do in handling our sin and guilt:

First, God’s people need to acknowledge is that God is holy. God will not “hold him guiltless” who does wrong for the wrongdoer is without excuse. (Ex. 20:7; Rom 1:20; 2:1; 2:14; 3:9-12,19,23)

Second, God’s people are to see guilt that comes from breaking the law of God as a friend since as a schoolmaster, the law calls out to us to bring us to Christ and His forgiveness. (Gal 3:24; Rom. 5:8)

Third, assume the guilt. Do not run and hide, make excuses, lie, etc. Agree with God that what you have done is against Him and his word. To continue to seek to cover the sin and wrongdoing leads to further problems. It can lead to broken relationships, distorted living, Church discipline, depression, and all the problems which that causes. Those that assume the guilt and confess find peace, forgiveness and mercy. (Prov. 28:13; 51:4; 1 Jn 1:7-9).

Fourth, confess to the appropriate people. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16) Now this is so important notice what our Lord said about it in relation to worship: “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.” (Matt. 5:23-26)

Now if the sin was public your need to confess not only to any immediate people you wronged but also you must make public confession. Be careful to take note that confession needs only be made as far as the extent of the wrong doing and its known affects. As I have explained this to my children, think of an umbrella and if the people were not under the umbrella of wrongdoing then they don’t need to hear a confession. My wife and I drilled this principle into our kids as we taught them to deal with sin, guilt, confession and forgiveness in our family and in their lives.

Fifth, make any needed restitution. I remember one instance when a child twelve years old stole some Christmas gifts from a neighbor. Asked what to do the father correctly directed the child to confess and seek forgiveness. This was swiftly done. The child then made restitution by working for the family in order to work with theor hands to better the life of the family and to make restitution. Needless to say the child learned a valuable lesson about stealing, the blessings of forgiveness and the principle of making restitution in order to help their fellow man. We see Zaccheus as an example of a person following the law of God in making restitution. And Paul wrote to the Church of Ephesus acknowledging that believers are to practice restitution: “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” (Eph. 4:28)

Sixth, change your life in two areas: 1. your thinking and 2. your behavior.

Think differently. You do not have to “beat your breast” nor crawl across pointed sharp gravels on your knees nor walk on hot embers. Therefore you do not have to live with guilty feelings. You have repented and done the works of repentance therefore you are forgiven. Now think forgiven! Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6:11) And then “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6: 9-11) You therefore can renew you mind living in the presence of the God of peace (Phil 4; Rom 12).

Change your behavior (put off / put on) in order that you do not perform the wrong doing. Now this takes practice but it can be done. Notice that the Answer to change is not to stop doing something but it is to replace it with good and godly living. This is the put off/ put on principle in Gods word that you need to grasp! Paul taught the Ephesians about this in the fourth chapter of his letter to them. Eph 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. He gives a clear example of this in the same contextual passage in several areas:

Communication – vs. 24 – 25, 29, 31-32 : And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away (put off) lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. … Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. …. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Anger - vs 26 -27; 31: Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: (27) Neither give place to the devil. ……. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice

Stealing – vs. 28 - Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

So whatever you did wrong the Bible has the sufficient answer to it so that you may put off the sin and put on God’s way of living in order to live holy and glorify God in your life.

God's Word Filtered!

2006-03-15T06:22:00.000-05:00

God's Word "Filtered"!

Canonicity

Kanon = a rod, staff or ruler…..a measuring rod. This Greek word may be a derivative of the Hebrew word kaneh (Ezek. 40:3-42:16) Therefore there was a norm by which something was measured. Paul understood the meaning of this word in Gal 6:16.

So it is and was in recognizing the inspired scripture. God was not pleased to give us a book that contained all 66 books at one time. He chose in his good pleasure to use men throughout history to write about his salvation, leading and working with his people. He used the personalities and feelings of the writers in the inspiration of His word. He used them in their time in history. Therefore it was not possible to give one book at creation and it be called the inspired Bible. Therefore His people must recognize his word. “How, you may ask, did the Church discover or recognize a book or the particular books of the Bible as being His word?” Several natural “filters” were naturally applied to ensure recognition. These were:

A. Is the writing authoritative? = Is it a divine, “Thus saith the Lord”

B. Is it prophetic” written by a man of God? = Was he in the mainstream redemptive revelation being an apostle or prophet? (Gal. 1:1-24; 2:4)

C. Is it authentic? = Does it tell the truth about God, Messiah / Christ, Man, Grace, Faith, Etc.?

D. Does the Book have the power of God, Is it Dynamic? = Is it life transforming? Is it living and active and able to make one wise unto salvation?

E. Was it received? = Has it been accepted by the people of God? This was done, in many or most instances ever before any formal universal official confirmation. (Note: the Church at large did not have e-mail)

All of the books of the Bible have met the standard. Most were recognized immediately while only a few had to be looked at in more detail for they required a greater discernment. Thank God for now there is no doubt but that God has spoken in all 66 books of the Bible. All the “filters” were met. So we can listen as God speaks! And He speaks through His inspired word.

Guidance When You Are Just Not Sure What You Are To Do!

2006-03-13T22:45:00.000-05:00

Guidance When You Are Just Not Sure What You Are To Do!

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Rom 14:17)

Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation that you cannot at the present time make a decision since consciously you are not sure what to do. That is ok for in Paul’s letter to the Romans chapter fourteen we learn that “he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom.14:23). This simply states when a Christian takes actions which in conscience he or she is unsure of whether right or wrong they sin. Therefore, if for whatever reason, you are unsure and not confident in the decision to be made then it must not be done. God’s guidance at this point is that you must not go forward. Therefore you must place the decision on hold.

This is a gracious directive from our God. Peace of conscience is important to our Heavenly Father and He wants us to have that peace. This is part of being in the kingdom of God, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy I n the Holy Ghost.” (Rom 14:17). Therefore, He tell us to stop and put the decision on hold for conscience sake.

Now we are not to walk away and never make the decision. We are still responsible and required to make decisions in life with a peace of conscience. Therefore there are multiple benefits given to us as we take God’s direction and place this decision on hold for a period.

Benefit # 1 - One benefit is that this time of refrain allows us to gather new and needful information which lessens doubt.

Benefit # 2 - Another benefit is that this refrain gives time to search the scriptures in order to be guided by God in the principles precepts of His word.

Benefit # 3 - It also benefits in that it gives time for new developments to take place that may be needful.

Benefit # 4 - This time of refrain also gives you the benefit of time in order to work through the issues to make a decision comfortably. MAny times you may need to speak with your pastor, or one of the other elders at church or a Christian friend that can help direct you in the Word to a comfortable biblical decision.

Benefit # 5 - We are also benefited in that we are guarded from making hasty and perhaps emotional decisions which can, and often does, lead us into sin.

Finally, once you have worked through the things you need to make a comfortable decision then make the desion not doubting but in faith and in a peace of mind.

Oh! To be led by God. Oh! What peace of conscience and mind!

A Critical Look At the Emerging Church Movement w/ Catechism Editing

2006-03-12T12:49:00.000-05:00

A Critical Look At the Emerging Church Movement
Phil Johnson

2006 Shepherds' Conference

Grace Community Church,

Sun Valley, CA

Catechism Editing
By Steve Horne

http://christianthotsataglance.blogspot.com/

Q.1 What name we ought to use when we speak of this movement?

A. The emerging church movement

Q. 2 Is this what it is commpnly called?

A. Yes it is the term popularly used.

Q. 3 Why are the proponents of the emergent church movement fond of calling it emergent or emerging?

A. Although people in this movement sometimes claim to represent the next great step forward after the failure of modernism.

Q. 4 Does this title rightly express the emergent church movement?

A. No

Q. 5 Why is the term emergent not a proper description of the emergent church movement?

A. This movement is not some beautiful new butterfly coming out of a cocoon but the the collective dying gasp of every major modernist idea evangelicals and fundamentalists have stood against for the past century and a half.

Q. 6 Do the Leaders of the emergent church movement submit written documents explaining their purpose (es)?

A. Yes

Q. 7 How can the teachings of the emerging church movement be described?

A. Virtually all the literature, style, and philosophy associated with the emerging subculture contain conspicuous elements of worldliness, man-centered worship, the narcissism of youth, liberal and neo-orthodox theology, and the silly, ages-old campaign to be "contemporary" at all costs.

Q 8. Are the teachings and features of the emergent church movement inventive?

A. No, few of this movement's most obvious features are truly inventive.

Q. 9. What parts of the movement are clearly not inventive?

A. They incorporate many kinds of religious tools such as, candles, contemporary music, various kinds of religious paraphernalia in order to seek a way to make the church seem "relevant" in order to adapt Christianity to the spirit of the age.

Q. 10. Will the emergent church movement succeed?

A. No, Christ stated that “the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church.”

Q. 11. How does the pattern of history indicate this will not succeed?

A. Movements to talior the Church to the tastes of a specific generation have been tried in various forms throughout history. If the pattern of history holds true the emerging church movement will die out and will be irrelevant even before the current generation gives way to the next generation.

Q. 12. Is the emergent church movement Church like?

A. No

Q. 13. How is the movement not like Church?

A. It is not Church like in its its attitude toward structure and authority. Its character is more like a free-for-all than Church.

Q. 14. Is it appropriate to speak of this movement as the "the emerging church?

A. Some from within the movement are questioning itself about whether it's really appropriate to speak of "the emerging church."

Q. 15. What term are they preferring use?

A. Some like Brian McLaren now prefer to speak of the movement as emerging "conversation."

Q. 16. Does McLaren think the word Church fits the movement?
A. No, he has indicated that even he thinks the word church really doesn't fit the movement very well.

Q. 17. Is the emerging church a true “movement”?
A. No

Q. 18. In what ways is the emerging church movement not true “movement”?

A. The “movenent” hates formal structure, it is resistant to any kind of definition or boundaries which keeps it shapeless and not easy to discern or describe, it is purposely foggy and amorphous, fluid and diverse, and it does not have clear leaders or universally recognized spokes-persons.

Q. 19. Who is the most prominent person in the “movement”?
A. That is Brian McLaren.

Q. 20. Why is he not the leader of a “movement” in a classical sense?

A. He is controversial and prone to make disturbing statements to such a degree that many say they don't want their ministries or opinions to be evaluated by what he says concerning the emergent church “movement”.

Q. 21. Has the “movement sought to organize” ?

A. Yes, in 2005 Brian Mclaren and a few other figures have sought to form an actual organization called "Emergent" aka "Emergent Village”.

Q. 22. What is the purpose of the movement?

A. There's no question that the movement is self-consciously and purposefully trying to accommodate or adapt to or otherwise indulge the postmodern climate of the age.

Q. 23. How does this affect the essential features of the faith?

A. Some of the essential features of faith and assurance that are absolutely essential to communicating the gospel clearly are sometimes held in contempt by the emerging subculture.

Q. 24. What essential features of the faith are being affected?

A. The features such as authority, strong convictions, doctrinal precision, clear definitions, and candor are compromised since they run counter to the values prized by postmodernists.

Q. 25. Is there then a possible broad-brush redefining of the “movement” in order to resist any kind of precise definition and yet will help men understand the concept of the “movement”?
A. Yes

Q. 26. Can this definition be stated in one or two concise sentences?

A. No, the very natureof the movement is broad since it is attuned to and seeks to work within Postmodernism.

Q. 27. What is Postmodernism?

A. Postmodernism, in general, refers to a tendency to discount values like dogmatism, authority, absolutism, assurance, certainty, and large, commanding, exclusive worldviews-

Q. 28. What then does Postmodern value?

A. Postmodernism values things like diversity, inclusiveness, relativism, subjectivity, tolerance, ambiguity, pragmatism, and above all, a view of "humility" that is characterized by lots of qualms and reservations and uncertainties and disclaimers about whether anything we hold in our belief system is really true or not.

Q. 29. What then are the values of the “emergent Church movement”?

A. Those values would be the very same values that are usually held in high esteem in the "emerging church movement."

Q. 30. Is the “emergent church movment” just another creative way to accomplish the goals of the “seeker sensitive” church growth movement then?

A. It certainly seeks growth however, the "emerging church" is a reaction against the shallow, mass-movement professional showmanship of the slick megachurches.

Q. 31. So then how can the “emergent church movement” better be defined?

A. The "emerging church" is a broad-based and growing assortment of similar or related movements that have flourished in the past half-decade--mostly on the fringe of the evangelical movement. "Emerging" congregations in one way or another tend to be keenly attuned to the postmodern shift in art, literature, and public discourse.

Q. 32. Is the “emergent church movment” missional?

A. Yes

Q. 33. What does the “movement” mean by being missional?

A. Their mission is the focus upon the importance of evangelistic outreach through involving themselves in the lives of unbelievers in the community outside the narrow circle of the church.

Q. 34. Is there anything wrong with this involvment in the lives of unbelievers?

A. No, there is nothing essentially wrong with this as long as the gospel is communicated clearly and distinctively with words..

Q. 35. Wherein then lies the problem with the mission of the ECM?

A. The problem arises when you factor in the postmodern tendency to distrust or despise every kind of clarity, certainty, or authoritative truth-claim.

Q. 36. What is the missional communication practice of the ECM?

A. Often in practice the emphasis on "missional living" results in an evangelistic strategy where gospel preaching is downplayed or deliberately omitted.

Q. 37. What is the basis of their “gospel” message?

A. Emergent-style churches show a preference for "narrative theology" as opposed to systematic doctrine.

Q. 38. What does this mean practically?

A. The ECM holds the story of the gospel as ultimately more important than the theology of it. The simple narrative of salvation history must not get lost in the careful parsing of theological words and ideas.

Q. 39. Is there some good that comes from the from the narriative gospels?

A. Yes. The four gospels do tell us about the life of Christ in narrative format. They are collections of anecdotes and incidents from His life.

Q. 40. Where does the narriatives fall short of giving the gospel?

A. Narriatives do not give full, if any, instruction in systematic doctrinal treatises regarding soteriology, or hamartiology, or any of the othersegments by which we tend to categorize systematic theology doctrine.

Q. 43. What is a proposition?

A. A proposition, by definition, is a premise that is either true or false. There is no third choice. (That is one of the most basic laws of logic, known as the law of the excluded middle.)

Q. 41. Does the EMC accept propositional truth?

A. Many times they do not. In the emerging church movement often the idea of propositional truth is not accepted since it is not held in high regard.

Q. 42. What do they think regarding propositional truth?

A. The ECM don't like handling ideas with clarity so they devalue the very idea of propositional truth, logic, and rationality.

Q. 43. Can truth be taught apart from propositions?

No, truth whether systematic or narrative theology can be taught apart from propositions. Truth at its pure essence is a proposition.

Q. 44. Can we know Christ apart from propositional facts?

A. No, for to know Christ in a true and saving way of necesssity involves true facts about Him.

Q. 45. What are facts that Christians know about Christ?

A. Christians know Christ in a biblical sense when they know the basic facts about His deity, His death, His resurrection, and the narriative of His life and purpose.

Q. 46. How does denying propositional truth affect logic?

A. Any attack on propositional truth ultimately entails the abandonment of logic completely.

Q. 47. In Church history has there been other “movements” that denyed propositional truth?

A. Yes, it was a key tenent of neo-orthodoxy. Which was said to lead to a “theological equivalent of suicide”.

Q. 48. What is modernism?

A. A movement within Christendom which has attempted to examine traditional belief according to contemporary philosophy, criticism, and historiography in an overt attempt to subvert and defeat the truth of Scripture with humanistic rationalism.

Q. 49. How does the ECM see their movement in relation to modernism?

A. Most EMC portray the movement as an answer to the influence of philosophical modernism; a departure from modernism; and as something distinct from modernism.

Q. 50. How does the ECM see postmodernism?

A. The ECM assumes that postmodernism represents a correction of the philosophical errors of modernism.

Q. 51. How does postmodernism pose a threat to Christianity?

A. Postmodernism is an attempt to subvert and defeat the truth of Scripture by glorifying irrationality, and by portraying all truth as hopelessly paradoxical, ambiguous, unclear, uncertain, and unimportant by playing with words and language questioning every assumption and challenging every claim to truth to destroy the clear gospel.

Q. 52. Are the modernist and postmodernist movements anthitetical?

A. No, the two movements are ultimately just one and the same. Postmodernists today are using the same arguments and the same strategies that the modernists of the Victorian era employed.

Q. 53. How can this be confirmed?

A. A reading of Charles Spurgeon's criticisms of 19th-century modernism against the so-called "evangelical modernists" of his day can be applied against the "evangelical postmodernists" of our day.

Q. 54. What then is the ECM?

A. The "emerging church movement" is really this generation's version of what has been known as modernism.

Q. 55. Does the ECM uphold respect for authority?

A. No It fosters contempt for authority. The contempt for structure in the "emerging church movement" is a thinly-veiled aversion to authority. You will see that if you simply examine the angry comments that were posted at the Emergent-US blog when it was announced that the new organization would have a "director."

Q. 56. Is having a “director” favorable to the people associated with the ECM?

To many a “director”is not favorable at all as has been stated multiple times: "A director?! Nobody's going to direct me! That's why I left the traditional church." Another guy wrote: "I think we are going in a horribly dangerous direction. We aren't becoming a 'conversation,' we're becoming an institution. A 'National Director?' for a conversation? Give me a break . . .. I have a feeling we're going down the Anakin Skywalker path here, folks."

Q. 57. Why should we be concerned about authority?

A. Because the Bible idea of church government and polity is not anarchy. It's not even democracy or mobocracy. The church is certainly not supposed to be the sort of populist organization where everyone has an equal voice in everything that happens.

Q. 58. How does the ECM approach Scripture in relation to authority?

A. The movement's approach to Scripture reflects the widespread tendency to show contempt for every kind of authority in the church claining that the Scripture does not actually claim authority for itself, it is “profitable”, but not "authoritative."

Q. 59. Does the ECM like preaching?

A. The ECM has aversion to the idea of preaching and it prefers the idea of "conversation."

Q. 60. Why does the ECM desire “conversation”?

A. Because the movement seems devoted to Hegelian dialectical approach to truth. They have a underlying assumption that the best way to arrive at the truth is formulated conversation: You have a thesis, and then an antithesis, and the truth is supposed to lie in a synthesis of these two contradictory ideas. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis. Thesis, antithesis, synthesis. It's a never-ending cycle.

Q. 61. What then becomes truth?

A. Nothing, all things remain ambigious since the synthesis becomes the new thesis to be answered by a new antithesis, and the synthesis of those ideas becomes the new thought, etc, etc, etc. Therefore there is never an absolute. Truth changes all the time.

Q. 64. What is the perspicuity of Scripture?

A. The principle of perspicuity teaches that the Bible is not too hard for God’s people to understand it. The Westminster Confession of Faith states, "All things in scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of scripture or other, [so] that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.”

Q. 63. How does the ECM ambiguity affect the perspicuity of Scripture?

A. . It breeds doubt about the perspicuity of Scripture.

Q. 64. How does the postmodernism view of how one aquires knowledge of truth (epistemology) glorify uncertainity?

A. The postmodern epistemology glorifies uncertainty through denying the scriptures as suthortative, holding basic Christan teachings as “mystical, thereby denying absolutes. This creates and glorifies uncertainity in the area of one gaining truth.

Q. 65. Why are they not dogmatic?

A. Those in the ECM cannot be dogmatic since they have abandoned certainty, assurance, and strong convictions and aren't sure of what they believe.

Q. 66. Can it then be said tht the ECM message sounds much like the echo of the voice of Satan in the garden: "Hath God said?"

A. Yes, for some find the Bible to be “as a human product”…… The Bible is still in the center for us,"…. "but it's a different kind of center. We want to embrace mystery, rather than conquer it." And another says, "I grew up thinking that we've figured out the Bible," ….. "that we knew what it means. Now I have no idea what most of it means. And yet I feel like life is big again-like life used to be black and white, and now it's in color."

Q. 67. Is this a denial of a basic tenant of the Christian faith?

A. Yes, for it is a flat denial of the clarity and perspicuity of Scripture which is a denial of one of the basic tenets of biblical Christianity, Protestant history, and evangelical conviction.

Q. 68. Can Scripture be difficult to understand?

A. Yes, parts of Scripture are "hard to be understood." (2 Pt. 3:16). But the essential message is simple and clear (Isa. 35:8). God has made Himself plain enough that there is much more than merely mystery to the Christian faith.

Q. 69. How does this do to the church at large?

A. It sows confusion about the mission of the church.

Q. 70. What the the desire of the ECM in its missional emphasis?

A. The "missional" emphasis in the ECM seems to be entirely focused on an effort to adapt the church to the culture. The interest is in the conversion of the church, rather than the conversion of the sinner.

Q. 71. Are they emphasizing the true gospel message?

A. There is little to no emphasis on the church's duty to proclaim a message of repentance and faith in Christ that calls men and women to forsake the world. Conversion is not a major theme of discussion in the emerging conversation.

Q. 72. Can a Christian pastor commend to any Christian to be partaker of the ECM in any manner?

A. There is absolutely no sense in which a Christian Paastor should commend this movement to Christians whether in engaging in their “conversations", attending their services, nor in reading their trendy literature.

Q. 73. Are their any valid points made by people in the ECM?

A. Yes.

Q. 74. Can they be succintly listed?

A. Yes:

Point 1 -- They are right to reject the professionalism and big-business approach to ministry that has been popularized by most of the influential megachurches.

Point 2 -- They are right to point out that millions of American evangelicals live lives of gross hypocrisy and narcissism, ignoring the needs of the poor while indulging themselves with entertainments and luxuries while the church struggles, and many pastors live barely above the poverty level (if that), and our Christian brothers and sisters struggle in many parts of the world because they don't even have clean water or basic medical care.

Point 3 -- They are right when they complain about the way the evangelical movement has sold its birthright for a mess of Republican Party porridge

Point 4 -- They are right when they suggest we have not done enough to reach the outcasts and counter-cultural people in our society.

Q. 75. What then should we do?

A. The Church should heed all those things without buying into the agenda of the ECM without abandoning the task of preaching the gospel with clarity and conviction

Confusion – Not God’s Way So It Can Be Cleared Up

2006-03-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

Confusion – Not God’s Way So It Can Be Cleared Up
Baptismal Confusion

Once again it is clear that many Christians do not know what to do when it comes to baptism. This is not a Presbyterian vs. Baptist thing! IT is a matter of the people of God not being properly discipled within the body of Christ and how this creates confusion in the minds of God’s people.

Note what one pastor has stated concerning how some Baptist schools instruct their pastoral students to discuss baptism with new believers. Now before the quote let me say this is the first time I have ever heard this. And if this happens it is deceptive! Now let’s listen:

“As a preacher trained in an IFBx college ……….. Remember hearing this? - "Don't talk to your converts about Baptism before they come to church! That will scare them away! Wait until you get them down the aisle for a 'public profession', and then tell (don't ask) them to get baptized. They can figure the doctrine out later." …….. This practice is what I lovingly refer to as "the Baptist surprise".

Can you imagine the amount of confusion that this deception creates in the minds of many people. No wonder the people question of they “did it right”, “want to go to the holy land and be rebaptized”, or maybe did not have the heart right so they want to do it again since now they are “really filled with the Holy Spirit”.

This pastor later switched to a better more biblical methodology, “Years later, I decided to switch out my IFBx methodology for Bible truth. Now, converts are instructed as to the meaning and doctrine behind baptism. Two things happened: 1. My baptism numbers went down (gasp!) 2. Those baptized in the church actually came back the next Sunday, and started growing in the Lord. As a result, attendance has steadily gone up (including the midweek prayer meeting).”

I will tell you one thing point blank – Pastors, if you are doing this you are wrong. Get real and instruct your congregation (yourself, adults, children, elders and deacons) in baptism means and purposes. This is serous stuff!

Now from time to time Christians think about being rebaptized for a number of reasons, but in particular if they have not been properly instructed in this sacrament. Clearly this happened in the following situation.

“ I made a fire insurance profession as a teen and got baptized... When I came to the reality that that profession was not a genuine saving faith profession but merely a roller coaster ride of self-sustained religion profession, i did a major self-evaluation. I wanted to make sure this was the real thing... not another false profession, or was it merely illumination within a genuine profession???? So I waited and sought evidence and truth and cost... issues of heart motive.
When reality hit, evidence clearly evaluated, counselors of Biblical wisdom obtained, I then struggled with whether or not I had to get re-baptized. I didn't jump in head first because at this point I had been hit with the fear of God... something I never had before. And I was finally apart of a church that did not jump into baptizing just anyone. I did end up getting re-baptized after much discipleship. The first one was merely an outward washing. The second however was a genuine display of the inward reality of true regeneration.”

Discipleship in this area was non-existent! And then the person was finally instructed erroneously to be “rebaptized” after they had later had some type of “spiritual experience.” The person I believe is genuine in desiring to glorify the Lord. I am in no manner putting down this person. What I am doing is faulting the Christian leaders that seemingly led this person wrongly from the beginning failing in proper discipleship.

And again:

A Sunday School teacher asked that the subject of rebaptism be addressed on a particular blog site (why not go to your church) because they were approached by a SS student with the question of whether they should be “rebaptized” since “when he was 14 he walked the isle and was baptized. Now, he thinks he didn't have a proper understanding at that time of what salvation, regeneration, ect. meant. He does believe he has a proper understanding now. Should this man, now 46 (i'm guessing) now be re-baptized. I sent him to our pastor, but I would like to know your thoughts.”

What missing here? What are the errors here? Fill in the blanks”

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Well I am just simply going to say that neither of these folks should be, nor have been, “rebaptized”. Also the pastors are not to instruct them to be “rebaptized” for they are instructing them against the teaching of the scriptures.

“Rebaptism” is a transgression of the law of God. For the commandments commands that God be worshipped only in the way authorized in the Bible. Baptism is one aspect of the act of worship and to have Christians to be “rebaptized” is unauthorized in the Bible and to do so is to lead the Church to worship a 'graven image' contrary to God’s revealed will.

Baptism is not something tht can be repeated. In Old Testament we know that bodily circumcision is unrepeatable since it is impossible. (Deut 10:16 & 30:6 and Jeremiah 4:4 & 9:25-26) Since circumcision has now been replaced by baptism, therefore baptism is not to be repeated. (Romans 4:11-25 & 6:1-5; Galatians 3:6-29; Colossians 2:11-13)Don’t fail to catch this – that only “unitarians and apostates” practiced 'rebaptism' in the apostolic age. Mark 7:3-8; Acts 19:1-3; First Corinthians 11:18f & 15:29.

Within Christianity the true visible Church of the triune God, there is only one baptism and that is trinitarian, for life and unrepeatable. Matthew 28:19f; Mark 16:15f; Romans 6:3-23; Ephesians 4:4-6; Colossians 2:6-16.
Therefore pastors and elders should never instruct a person in the Church that has been baptized to be “rebaptized”. To do so is to instruct and lead them recrucify Christ.

Now here you may want to say, “Whoa Steve you have gone to far on this one.! So I remind you that Hebrews 6:1-6 implies that those who get themselves rebaptized, recrucify Christ. For it commands: "Do not again lay down...the doctrine of baptisms. For they that do crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh!

In conclusion I strongly suggest that all of us ensure we know what baptism means in life and worship.

Elders and Pastors instruct you people in the sacrament of baptism. Pastors do not lead the Church in error at worship by performing “rebaptisms”. If you have not been properly taught concerning baptism and “rebaptism” then I suggest you “go back to school” to learn of baptism its means, mode and method and how it is a part of worship. If you have been using the deceptive “baptist surprise” then repent and see forgiveness and start now instructing God’s people properly.

Christians, “rebaptisms” are not to be preformed. If you do not understand baptism I ask that you get call your pastor and set up a number of discipleship meeting set up in order to ensure that you get instructed properly regarding baptisms. Also on this blog search baptism and read the information here, Do not do this and by pass your pastor!

Husbands learn of baptism and be ready to instruct you wife and children so that you lead them away from apostate worship errors. If you need to be discipled in the sacrament baptism then get with your pastor and set meetings to be discipled. There is no room for a pride ( “I know everything”) issue in this important Church doctrine.

Wives, Go to your husband for instruction. If there is need for discipleship then please go get it.

Children, your baptism is valid. Think on it often. Rest in that God has set his stamp upon you. Rejoice in the promise that in Christ God will be your God and you are one of His people! If you need to know more about this go to mom and dad and if needed. I am sure, they will let you visit with your pastor with them for further instruction.

God Bless You .....Steve

What Christians May Do!

2006-03-12T07:03:00.000-05:00

What Christians May Do!

Christian may do anything but sin! Amen

Leaving One Church For Another, Church Discipline, Disfellowship, God's Will, and Their Application

2006-03-11T17:45:00.000-05:00

"Leaving One Church For Another, Church Discipline, Disfellowship, God's Will, and Their Application"

By Pastor/Elder Bret Lovitz

Ponderings and Musings

http://gracefellowshipmh.blogspot.com/

Due to recent events and discussions, I thought I would take the time to deal with the above titled issues, and hopefully clarify where I stand at least as "an" Elder of Grace Fellowship that I hope are based on biblical principals, and clarify some possible misunderstandings.

When a person or family is searching for a church, whether it is their first as a Christian individual or family, or because they recently moved into another area, they make the decision of which church to become a member of based on the will of God and biblical guidelines for what a church should be. It is not my intent to go into those biblical guidelines but just deal with it from the perspective that sovereign grace Christians know what those guidelines are. Many areas of the country will not have much of a choice of sovereign grace baptistic churches. Some areas may have more than one to chose from within an hour or so drive. But once that choice is made, while subjective, it's based on what the person or family believes is the will of God.

After they have been a member of that church, what would be reasons why they would want to leave that church?

1. Relocating to a different city, state or country for a job, military, health. Although as you may have seen me write on before, there being a sound biblical church in that city should be the first consideration for "if" and "where" you go.

2. Ministry opportunity, not just relegated to pastor/elder, in a different church and/or area.

3. Doctrinal heresy, a false gospel, or serious doctrinal differences being taught at the church that cannot be corrected.

4. Sin in the church by members or leadership that is not being dealt with biblically due to a lack of church accountability and discipline.

So, what if a person or family leaves, and it is not due to any of these reasons? Are the elders of the church that they left not supposed to ever do anything in any of these cases? Are the elders supposed to do something every time, or try to lead the church to impose church discipline on them in every one of these situations? The answer to both of these questions are no. Each catagory and each particular situation is different. I have never said or suggested that all situations are the same or that every time someone leaves one church for another (especially one of like faith) they should be disciplined by the church they are leaving (what little is left that could be done). If someone left the church and didn't have a good biblical reason to go, I would want to talk to them, I would try to get to the root of the problem, I would try to encourage them to stay, I would tell them I don't agree with them because they don't really have a reason to leave, but I would not suggest church discipline by telling the church not to fellowship with them.

Most of the time the church is mentioned and dealt with in the New Testament, it refers to the local church. Church at Rome, Church at Corinth, Churches in Galatia, Church at Ephesus, Church at Colosse, Church at Philippi, Church at Thessalonica, Church at Laodicia, Church at Sardis, Church at Philadelphia, Church at Smyrna, Church at Pergamos, Church at Thyatira. The Church is both local, and catholic (universal, not roman catholic) making up all the churches in the body of Christ. If the sad occasion occurs that a person falls under church discipline and does not repent after going through the biblical steps, does that mean they can just go to another church as if nothing happened and be a member and serve the Lord there? Are churches not to communicate with one another when a Christian goes from one church to another for non biblical reasons, to make sure such people are not under church discipline? If someone leaves a church for a non biblical reason, is it wrong or unreasonable to expect that the pastor or elders would call the other church that they are going to (if they know what church it is)? The answer to these questions are no. It is part of upholding the biblical principals of church holiness and discipline. If someone flees one church for another because of church discipline or unresolved issues, it is doubtful that they will voluntarily share that information. So wisdom says, that there needs to be checks and balances in place for the glory of God and protection of His church. It's not about lording over the flock, trying to be controling, or abusing God's people spiritually, it's about trying to glorify God by being obedient to His word.

What about disfellowship? Where does this fit into church discipline? Well, there are several passages of Holy Scripture that deals with this that I have already shared in a previous BLOG post. Disfellowship is what is done when someone is put out of the church because they wouldn't repent after the first three steps. Disfellowship doesn't mean "no contact at all." It doesn't mean you don't continue to love them and pray for them. But it means that you don't have that same level of fellowship and contact so that the "watching world" (whoever they may be) will not think the church is condoning them of their sin, and in hopes that the Lord may be pleased to use that disfellowship as a "means" to bring them to repentance, and restoration and reconciliation to the Lord and His church. If the person(s) are not under any official church discipline, but left the church because of problems and struggles they had, even if they are not disfellowshipped by the church they left (all that could be done anyway) because of their leaving in of itself, if the person who left was disgruntled and began complaining and gossipping about their previous church and/or elders, it would be biblical, wise and right for the elders to ask the church not to fellowship with them anymore in that situation until the person repented. In our situation, all that was said to some, was that we would only ask them not to fellowship with the couple who left if the began complaining and gossipping. Praise the Lord, that has not been the case, and there has been some fellowship between them and a couple of people from our church.

Again the goal in this siutation and others like these, is that the Lord would be glorified through the biblical handling of situation as it applies, the holiness of His church (both positional and practical), and the concern for the souls of God's people. Each situation is different. There is no cookie-cutter answer to each type or particular situation. And both elders and members need to be in prayer and examine themselves as to the reasons why these things happen.

I hope the Lord will use this for His honor and glory for both this local church of His here, and abroad through those who read this. Thank you, and may God bless His own!

The Importance Of Church Membership

2006-03-11T07:31:00.000-05:00

Having came across this several years ago and believing that this is so biblical, I thought I would post this and suggest you have your pastors look at it. It makes the most sense to me in an approach to biblical church membership. .... Enjoy, Steve

By the way...... Can someone be saved apart from the Church?

The Importance of Church Membership
By: Jay Adams

I began pastoring in the early fifties, trying to do all those things that I had been taught to do in seminary. I was careful to have inquirers classes before admitting anyone into membership I wasn't taking any chances on who might come into my church! I kept people at arms length, waiting until they asked whether they could join. You weren't going to catch me "pressuring" anyone into membership; no siree! And, as for church discipline? What was that, anyway? They never taught us anything about that in seminary. Churches just didn't do it.

Blithely I carried on in this fashion for three pastorates. Then for many years, I did not pastor a church; I was teaching in two theological seminaries. But, I attended church regularly, observed much, studied, did a lot of counseling, and, ultimately, reached very different conclusions about the matters mentioned above. Three years ago, I helped plant a church, beginning with just one family. The practices I now follow are what I want to talk to you about.

A. Immediate Church Membership

First, don't have inquirer classes that people must attend before they are admitted as members. Nowhere, in the book of Acts, can you find any such thing. Indeed, you have abundant precedent for the opposite. It seems that the New Testament apostles and preachers made every effort to bring converts into church membership as soon as possible. Thousands were baptized (into membership) immediately when they professed faith in Christ (Acts 2:41). Obviously, even the validation of their profession of faith could have been no more than cursory. There was a very different attitude than there is in many Biblebelieving churches today. Take the Ethiopian Eunuch baptized, and thereby admitted to church membership, on the spot! And, of all things, Paul and Silas baptized the Philippian jailer and his household at midnight! Even though their backs were lacerated from beatings, the apostolic band thought it so important to get these new converts under the care and discipline of the church, they would not wait until morning.

B. Screening False Professors

"But how can you screen out false professors? And, is it right to allow people with so little knowledge into the church? I guess that's what the apostles did, but. . . ?" Well, let me explain. I think we have added the "communicant's class" as a prerequisite to membership because so few churches are willing to practice church discipline. In New Testament times it was easy to enter the church, but it meant something to remain. Nowadays, it is a little bit difficult (just a very little) to get into the church, but once in, you're in forever no matter what you do. Why, in many churches, it doesn't take as much to remain a member as it does to retain your membership in Rotary! That is not how things ought to be.

1. Lifetime instruction, and
2. close care and
3. discipline over each member,

ought to be the rule. One should not think that once he has "graduated" from the inquirer's class he has graduated from study. The church is, as Calvin loved to call it, "God's school." Once one matriculates into membership through baptism (the admitting ordinance), he is to be instructed throughout life about how to "observe all things" that Christ commanded (Mat. 28:19, 20). The "Great Commission" is an educational one; it is a call to become part of a school from which you never graduate.

C. Immediate Connection in church membership is crucial and important

People ought to be called into membership as soon as they profess faith in Christ. New Testament preachers connect baptism so closely to the gospel invitation that some mistake it for a part of the gospel itself. It is not, of course (I Cor. 1:17 makes that abundantly clear), but immediately uniting with Christ's church and coming under its care and discipline is vitally important. Otherwise, people remain in Satan's territory, denied the blessings and protection of the church of Christ. Discipline is one such blessing.

Whenever one becomes delinquent in doctrine or life he has the benefit of discipline by the body to restore him. But you can't discipline a person who is not in the body. You have no authority over him. If a member fails to shape up, after all the stages of church discipline have been carefully followed, the disobedient "Christian" is put out of the fellowship. But you can't expel someone from something he was never a part of!

D. Many Christians Live Outside the Body in Disobedience to the Scriptures for BAD reasons!

Many lawless Christians remain outside of the church because they do not want to submit to the rule of the elders. But, to fail to do so is to disobey Scripture: "Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you." Heb. 13:17. Such people like to live as they please; they don't want others to "watch" over them. Consequently, they soon get into trouble. So far as the New Testament is concerned, there are no lone wolf Christians. We are all to become parts of a body that is incomplete without every part; we are God's temple, into which all the stones must be placed. If you are not a member of the church of Christ, submitting to the rule of elders who are watching over you, act today (don't even wait until tomorrow)

Growth in The Christian Blog World

2006-03-08T17:04:00.000-05:00

Growth In Bloggers in Christian Blog World

Man oh man there are many Christian blogs out there. Here are some urls to check out:

http://pilgrimchristian.blogspot.com/ Called Doctrines Of Grace (one of the best)

http://gracefellowshipmh.blogspot.com/ Called Ponderings and Musings (wonderful, simple and to the point!)

http://teampyro.blogspot.com/ Called Pyromaniacs (Not focused on Practical Christian living but when the writers do get there it is usually good)

http://christianthotsataglance.blogspot.com/ Called Christian Thots At A Glance (focused on practical Christian living)

Many have rightly taught about the Character of God, the plan of salvation in the complete definition of the grace of God, the sacraments and the church universal with the need for local functionality. Many stand and have stood for truth against modern and liberal movements. In all of this I say thank God. We have a voice and a new (and may I say cheap) medium for the message of the faith once delivered to the saints! So fellow Christians lets continue to blog. Okay?

Today I just want to state that I have seen growth in the Christian blog world where Christian bloggers are starting to talk about “body life” issues. We are seeing things discussed such as Church discipline, forgiveness and reconciliation, worry, fear, etc. Things that will help us all grow in the faith.

Now some die in the wool systematic theology folks will probably say something like this, “But you are leaving the fundamentals of the faith and moving into a “how to” social Christianity.” Well I certainly hope that is not what is happening. I would have no part of that. What I think is happening is that as the Bible gives sufficient answers for all life, faith and godliness the fundamentals of solid doctrine is applied in a practical manner since it alone supports how we are to live life to the glory of God.

So below are some titles of examples of what is beginning to happen to help Christians grow in their faith and in progressive sanctification.

.........................

Progressive Sanctification – Growing in Grace, Cooperation With God

"Church Discipline: The Missing Mark" By Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (www.the-highway.com/discipline_Mohler.html

"What Type of Church Did the Apostles Attend"

Scriptures For Our Consideration

Select Passages of God's Holy Word, For Our Consideration and God's Glory

"Don't Waste Your Cancer" By John Piper (www.desiringGod.org)

Discontentment - Guy R. Finnie

Anger

A Sin for Which There Is No Excuse - Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)

True Repentance by J.C. Ryle

Being Thankful for Pain By W. Tullian Tchividjian

John Calvin and Anxiety

Anger

Godliness Through Discipline - Jay E. Adams

Christ And Your Problems - Jay E. Adams

The Evil of Backbiting and Evil Speaking - Richard Baxter

Is there any difference between biblical counseling? MacArthur, John, F., Jr, Wayne A. Mack

Spurgeon on Worry and Trust

Practical Christian Living

One Anothering

What is Nouthetic Counseling – Jay Adams

Godliness through Discipline – Jay Adams

A Look At Commitment

Our Basic Duty – Forgive the Repentant

Overcoming Evil – Jay Adams

Worry: A Serious Life Issue That Leads To Atheistic and Lazy Process Which Must BeBroken
Broken

Biblical Principals of Work and the Biblical Work Ethic

Thoughts on Biblical Sexuality and in Overcoming Sexual Difficulty

AA Doctrines Compared with the Scriptures

Can We Use Eastern Language In Our Prayer And Devotional Life

Abomination – Often Used And Misunderstood

Perseverance Of The Saints

From Uselessness To Usefulness

To Oil Or Not To Oil?

Guided … by God?

Tools of the Faith

The Bible God’s Word To Us

Sola Scriptura Series:

Sola Scriptura in Doctrine and Practice (Part 1)
Sola Scriptura And Orthopraxy (Part 2)
Sola Scriptura and Orthopraxy: Establishes "Philosophy of Ministry" (Part 3)
Sola Scriptura and Orthopraxy: In Doctrine, Church Polity, Worship, and More (Part 4)
Sola Scriptura and Orthopraxy: In Our Worship and Christian Living (Part 5)

Catch you guys later ....Steve

To Oil Or Not To Oil? A Must Read!

2006-03-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

What About Oil

Jay Adams

"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church;

and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord..."

Jam 5:13-16 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (15) And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (16) Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

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What About Oil?

Oil in the passage under consideration has been misunderstood. Thinking of the use of oil in the ceremonial anointings of prophets, priests and kings in Old Testament times, some have interpreted its use here in a similar way. That, along with the translation of aleipho, the Greek term in the passage, as "anoint" in the King James Version, has led to an unfortunate understanding that brings about the need to discuss the passage in some detail.

First, you must understand the correct meaning and use of the word aleipho.

Unlike the rendering in the King James Bible, aleipho does not refer to a ceremonial anointing. Indeed, the word "anoint" as a translation of the verb would be incorrect and misleading in any context. There is another term, entirely unrelated to aleipho that does mean "anoint," that James would have used if he had any intention of speaking of a ceremonial act. Indeed, this other verb is so important in the New Testament that it is the basis of one of the most significant terms used to describe our Lord Himself. That word is the Greek verb chrio, from which Christos, "the anointed one," is derived, and from which, by transliteration, we obtained the English designation Christ. The English and the Greek word from which it is derived are renderings of the Hebrew for "Messiah." Messiah clearly refers to the One Who was to be anointed as the Prophet, Priest, and King. Obviously, the use of chrio in such a context is ceremonial to its roots.

What, then, does aleipho mean?

Obviously, there must be a difference; indeed, James must have chosen it rather than chrio for good reasons precisely because 1) he did not intend to speak of a ceremonial act; 2) because the difference in the two verbs was the determining factor in his choice of terms. What does aleipho mean?

The difference between aleipho and chrio has nothing to do with the element that is applied to the sick Christian. In both oil was used. The distinction between the verbs, rather, is a distinction having to do with action. In anointings, oil is poured upon the head; in actions described by aleipho, oil is rubbed or smeared upon the body. Indeed, the word aleipho, that James used, is mundane rather than ceremonial. It was used to describe the way Greek athletes rubbed down their bodies with oil and grease before wrestling, and of greatest import to us it was a favorite medical term both in the Scriptures and elsewhere. It describes how oil, either as such, or as a base mixed with medicinal herbs, was applied to the body. Used in the context of sickness by James, it is clear that his intention was medicinal.

In Isaiah 1:5,6, God describes Judah as a sick nation, beaten and bruised from head to foot. In v.6, He insists that nothing has been done to cure her injuries. He specifically mentions that her wounds have not been bandaged and her bruises have not been "softened with oil." Clearly, the medicinal use of oil is prominent in the passage. In the New Testament, Jesus describes the action of the good Samaritan as bandaging wounds and "pouring oil and wine on them." (Luke 10:34). There is no doubt that oil was used medicinally in both Old and New Testament times.

In the Loeb Classical Library edition of Hippoccrates' medical writings (Vol III), we find ample evidence of the use of oil as a medicine. Dr. E.T. Witherington, in his general introduction says bandages were soaked in some application, the most important being forms cerate which consisted of wax liquefied in olive oil or oil of roses, and to which sometimes pitch was added. Wine and oil were also used on bandages (pp. xx, xxi).

Here are some actual quotations from Hippocrates himself speaking of wounds and injuries:

". . . putting linen on it and moisten with oil." (p.29); " . . .sprinkling it with oil and wine" (p 147); ". . . moistened with oil and wine" (p165); ". . . sprinkling it with warm wine and oil" (p.353).

Rather than sanctioning some sort of ceremonial anointing, James was advocating the use of prayer accompanied by medicine. That, of course, makes a very great difference in how we apply the passage today. In those days, elders, or anyone, for that matter (remember the good Samaritan) could apply simple remedied for ailments; physicians did not have a corner on the work. Indeed, while there were many physicians around, they were not always readily available. It would be natural, then, for the elders to come to the sick room, pray and administer the best remedies they had.

The passage indicates that, as in the cases of Job and the blind man (John 9), many illnesses are not traceable to sin in the sick person.

They are part of a cursed world that, because of Adam's sin, suffers from injury and disease. In that case, prayer and medicine would restore the patient to health.

But James also suggests that in some instances, the sick person's illness is due to his own sin.

That could happen in two ways:

1. either the illness was caused by sinful behavior (drunkenness leading to chirrosis of the liver, for instance) or

2. by a judgment of God inflicted on unrepentant children of God (Cf. the example in I Corinthians 11: 27-32).

In such cases, prayer and medicine were not sufficient; he must also confess his sin to God (and, presumably, to anyone else against whom the offense was committed).

James' exhortation to the sick, and his clear description of what the elders are to do when helping the sick, is entirely consistent with what the twelve did when they went our to preach and to heal the sick:

"So they . . . rubbed oil on many sick people & healed them (Mark.6:13)."

Again, the word aleipho, not chrio, is used indicating that they were to do precisely what the elders are to do to heal the sick. Moreover, when you examine the interesting passage in Acts 28:8,9, you discover though Paul cured people miraculously (v. 8 ), he (and/or Luke) also "gave medical treatment" to many (as the word used in v. 9 indicates). Paul did not miraculously heal Timothy of his "frequent illnesses" ( I Timothy 5:23), but advised him to use wine medicinally to help his stomach troubles. And, rather than curing him miraculously, Paul had left Trophimus behind sick ( II Timothy 4:20).

It is plain, then, that medicine and medical treatment, were not only accepted by New Testament writers as legitimate means to accompany prayer, but advised and used by them.

The next time your faith healing friends throw this passage in James at you, if you remember the facts in this pamphlet, you will be able to refute their erroneous claims. And, you will not be tempted to follow advice that superficially seems biblical, but in reality proves not to be.

Instead, when you are seriously ill, call for the elders of your church and use the best medical treatment available.

What Think Ye Of Mary

2006-03-06T01:38:00.000-05:00

What Think Ye Of Mary?

The remembrance of the Blessed Mary should direct us to reflect on the worship of Christ our Saviour. In no way should it prompt one to worship Mary. There are no biblical reasons for the formulating Mariology and / or Mariolatry. The idolatrous worship of Mary came about due to the mystery and connection of Mary in mystery of the incarnation of Christ, the Son of God.

The reality of Mary as the mother of the Saviour, Mary unquestionably holds a peculiar position among all women, and in the history of redemption. The Scriptures are clear that we will know each other in heaven. So then we can speculate that in heaven she must stand close to Him, with great maternal thoughts and feelings as one of whom on earth she bore nine months in the womb, and then cared for Him suckling, feeding, and caring for Him so that “the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. (Luk 2:40) This in much in the same way as Timothy's grandmother and mother as Paul described their labour of love when he called “to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” (2Ti 1:5) Her maternal sensitivities are seen in that she also saw followed Him to the cross and beheld her Son give up His life for her and His people’s ransom. Glory!

Mary’s life is an example issuing a silent blessing upon all generations, and her name and memory are, and ever will be, inseparable from the holy mysteries and benefits of faith because she bore our Lord. It is no wonder then that Mary is simply mentioned in the Apostles Creed because Christ was, "Conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.”

Realistically here is where we should stop in our summary in our understanding of Mary and her love, care and devotion to her Son. However the mystics and many religious leaders of the Church throughout history have "speculated, added to, “miracleized”, adopted, manipulated, theorized, baptized and you name it, turning something so simple into damnable, heretical, idolatry beliefs, persuasions and false doctrines.therefore, Since all this nonsense has gone on through Church history I will try to lay out some of the history that formulated the idolatry of Mariology and Mariolatry.

Both the Latin and Greek Catholic church, failed to stop where the Scriptures stopped regarding Mary, the conception by the Holy Ghost and her relationship she had with her Son. Many in the Church did not stop with this but overstepped the limits of the Scripture and of good exegetical practices. This came about due to an undue focus upon the connection of Mary and the mystery of the incarnation of Christ, the Son of God. After 450 A.D. many had transformed the mother of the Lord” into a mother of God. The the humble handmaid of the Lord” had been unbiblically turned into "a queen of heaven". Mary the “highly favored” became one known as a "dispenser of favors" and she that is “blessed among women” became, in the mind of many, as "an intercessor above all women".

In this error Mary now becomes the exception to all mankind fallen in Adam being a universal sinless, holy, co-redeemer. This developed somewhat like this: at first some stated that she was acquitted only of actual sin, then she became acquitted of original sin and finally followed the the doctrine of the her being immaculately conceived – the doctrine of the immaculate conception. See a statement of the doctrine below in Appendix B.

The doctrine of the immaculate conception of Mary was not accepted for along long time. Actually not until 1854. The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception was long contested, and was not established as an article of faith in the Roman church until 1854. So that over time the unbiblical thinking of Mary and then her veneration being outside of good biblical discernment gradually evolved and led to a degenerated and idolatrious Church being led to idol worship of Mary.

The idolatry can be discerned as early as the second century in the then allegorical interpretation of the history of the fall and in an assumption of an antithetic relation of Eve and Mary. In this teaching Mary is erroneously said to occupy the same position of Eve. So then the mother of Christ occupies the same position in the history of redemption as the wife of Adam in the history of sin and death. Oh the destruction to the biblical account of the Pauline doctrine of an antitypical parallel between the first and second Adam. Creative as this error was in imagination it is filled with so many errors and is so unscriptural it becomes a heresy which in the end "tends to substitute Mary for Christ".

"Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian, are the first who present Mary as the counterpart of Eve, as a “mother of all living” in the higher, spiritual sense, and teach that she became, through her obedience the mediate or instrumental cause of the blessings of redemption to the human race, as Eve by her disobedience was the fountain of sin and death." One writer calls her the “advocate of the virgin Eve,” which comes to be understood in the sense of intercessor. This is where the Roman Catholic Church points to as the oldest leading authority in the Catholic Mariology.

The idolatrous veneration and worship of Mary prevails even through today over the worship of Christ. Note in iconography that the Modanna (Mary) the human mother is the principal figure, and the divine child an accessory.

The first instance of a formal invocation of Mary in worship seems to occur in the Syrian Church where Ephraim Syrus (379), addressed Mary and the saints. Another more clear example of invocation of Mary in worship appears in the eulogy of Gregory Nazianzen (389) who "relates of Justina that she besought the virgin Mary to protect her threatened virginity, and at the same time disfigured her beauty by ascetic self-tortures, and thus fortunately escaped the amours of a youthful lover (Cyprian before his conversion)."

Now not all of the church was inclined to do such an idolatrious practice. This is known for in the many writings of Athanasius, Basil, Chrysostom, and Augustine, there is no example of an invocation of Mary. And then rightly so "Epiphanius even condemned the adoration of Mary, and calls the practice of making offerings to her by the Collyridian women, blasphemous and dangerous to the soul."

Boy, oh boy in the fifth century, the worship of saints was in full bloom, and as you can guess the worship of Mary because of her relationship to the Lord was placed as the "most blessed queen of the heavenly host". She received the "highest degree of veneration". this being distinctly higher from that of the saints and angels. This led to the many known and unknown churches and altars that have been dedicated to "the holy Mother of God, the perpetual Virgin". Note that " Justinian I., in a law, implored her intercession with God for the restoration of the Roman empire, and on the dedication of the costly altar of the church of St. Sophia he expected all blessings for church and empire from her powerful prayers." His general refused to go to battle till he had secured her protection. Pope Boniface IV. in 608 turned the Pantheon in Rome into a temple of Mary. Therefore even her images were divinely worshipped.

In the idolatry teaching she has became almost like with Christ, becoming a " joint redeemer", being invested with most of His own attributes and acts of grace. Ascribed to her are "a sinless conception, a sinless birth, resurrection and ascension to heaven, and a participation of all power in heaven and on earth". In this idolatry she has become "the center of devotion, cultus, and art, the popular symbol of power, of glory, and of the final victory of Catholicism over all heresies".

Cyril of Alexandria (444), erroneously said of Mary that she was "the crown of virginity, the indestructible temple of God, the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity, the paradise of the second Adam, the bridge from God to man, the loom of the incarnation, the sceptre of orthodoxy; through her the Trinity is glorified and adored, the devil and demons are put to flight, the nations converted, and the fallen creature raised to heaven."

Now it should not surprise anyone that many festivals and feat days were established around all of this erroneous commotion. After all it is one way to press this teaching upon the people. Here is a partial list:

1. The Annunciation of Mary - commemorates the announcement of the birth of Christ by the archangel Gabriel, (Luk_1:26-39) and at the same time the conception of Christ; for in the view of the ancient church Mary conceived the Logos through the ear by the word of the angel. Hence the festival had its place on the 25th of March, exactly nine months before Christmas;

2. The Purification of Mary or Candlemas, in memory of the ceremonial purification of the Virgin, forty days after the birth of Jesus, therefore on the second of February (reckoning from the 25th of December); and at the same time in memory of the presentation of Jesus in the temple and his meeting of Simeon and Anna. (Luk_2:22-38) This, like the preceding, was thus originally as much a festival of Christ as of Mary, especially in the Greek church.

3. The Ascension, or Assumption rather, of Mary is celebrated on the 15th of August. The festival was introduced by the Greek emperor Mauritius (582-602); some say, under Pope Gelasius (496). In Rome, after the ninth century, it is one of the principal feasts, and, like the others, is distinguished with vigil and octave.... "since Mary, according to the most recent Roman dogma, was free even from original sin, and since death is a consequence of sin, it should strictly follow that she did not die at all, and rise again, but, like Enoch and Elijah, was carried alive to heaven. Others include:

4. The Nativity of Mary
5. The Presentation of Mary
6. The Visitation of Mary
7. The Festival of the Immaculate Conception

Why then do we Protestants protest the Roman Catholic Church? There are many reasons, however the worship of Mary is one of the principal points of separation between Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Reformed Protestantism.

The Bible contains no intimation of any worship or festival celebration of Mary. Now Mary, is rightly called by Elizabeth, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, “the mother of the Lord” however she nowhere calls her the "mother of God,”. It is a blessed thing that Mary is esteemed by Elizabeth and the angel Gabriel, as “blessed among women;”. Her own song resounds with the understanding that she and the Church should understand that throughout history "all generations shall call me blessed.” Mary’s character appears as though she is a devout virgin, and that she is a pure and humble person. The other minuscule glimpses of her life confirm this as well. Note her at the scene of the cross in Jn. 19:25-27.

The scriptures are clear that she is no exception to the sinfulness of all mankind. Therefore she is not conceived immaculately holy nor in any manner an object of divine veneration.

Mary, though important, stands in the background of redemptive history. In the book of the Acts of the Apostles and in the epistles Mary is mentioned barely once, and then simply as the “mother of Jesus;” (Act_1:14) awaiting upon the Holy Spirit to recieve power to be a witness unto Christ. Nothing concerning her birth and death are known. As the Son grew she decreased in "holy humility". "At the wedding in Cana Christ administered to her, though leniently and respectfully, a rebuke for premature zeal mingled perhaps with maternal vanity. On a subsequent occasion he put her on a level with other female disciples, and made the carnal consanguinity subordinate to the spiritual kinship of the doing of the will of God. (Mat_12:46-50) The well-meant and in itself quite innocent benediction of an unknown woman upon His mother He did not indeed censure, but He corrected it with a benediction upon all who hear the word of God and keep it, and thus forestalled the deification of Mary by confining the ascription within the bounds of moderation" .It is plainly indicated within the Scriptures that Mary was as you and I and there is no worship of her needed, nor is it to be done by any institution. To worship her is expressly forbidden since it is idolatry and idolatry is expressly forbidden.

So now, “What Think Ye Of Mary?

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Appendix A - What Think Ye Of Christ?

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me," (John 14:6). Also, Jesus claimed to be God in flesh. If you compare what God said to Moses in Exodus 3:14 ("And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”) with what Jesus said in John 8:58 (Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am,"), then you quickly see that Jesus was claiming to be God. In fact, others testified that He was divine as well:

John 20:28, "Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!'"
Col. 2:9, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form."
Heb. 1:8, "But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever..."

Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. He is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth," (John 1:1-2,14). Because the word was with God and was God and became flesh, we then state that Jesus has two natures: divine and human. Therefore, Christianity teaches that Jesus is both God and man at the same time. The reason that he is God in flesh is because only God can atone for our sins; we can't do it on our own because we are finite, sinful beings and we cannot please an infinitely holy God. Jesus had to be a man to be able to die for humanity. This means that Jesus took our place on the cross; that is, He took our place and suffered the wrath of God the Father. If you trust in what Christ has done, then you will be saved from the righteous judgment of God. More on that next.

God is infinitely holy, sinless, and just. When we sin, when we do something contrary to God's will, then we have offended God. Since He is infinite, our offense against Him takes on an infinite quality -- because of who we have offended: an infinite God. Since no person can please an infinite God (because we are finite and sinners) then the only one left to remove our sins is God Himself. Therefore, Jesus is God in flesh, the one who died on the cross, bore our sin in his body (1 Pet. 2:24), and physically rose from the dead.

Right now, in heaven, Jesus is still in the form of a man: "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," (1 Tim. 2:5). Jesus rose from the dead in the same body he died in: "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' 20 The Jews therefore said, 'It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had spoken," (John 2:19-21). Also, He retained the wounds of His crucifixion after He rose from the dead: "Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing,” (John 20:25). Forty days after His resurrection He ascended into heaven bodily: "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight," (Acts 1:9). He will return again from the heavens, and will judge the world and all people: "This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven," (Acts 1:11). Yet, at the same time, He is still divine, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," (Col. 2:9).

Jesus never did anything wrong. He performed many miracles such as healing, casting out demons, walking on water, calming a storm with the command, raising people from the dead, and rising from the dead himself. Though there have been many great teachers throughout history, none of them have performed such miracles and claimed to be divine as Jesus claimed. This is why we can believe Him when He says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me," (John 14:6).

We trust what Jesus said. Therefore...

Jesus is prayed to - Acts 7:55-60; 1 Cor. 1:2 with Psalm 116:41; (John 14:14)
Jesus is worshipped - Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6
Jesus cleanses from sin - 1 John 1:9
Jesus forgives sins - Matt. 9:1-7; Luke 5:20; 7:48

CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS AND RESEARCH MINISTRY Copyright Matthew J. Slick, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

.

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Appendix B - The Doctrine Of The Immaculate Conception

THE DOCTRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."

"The Blessed Virgin Mary . . ." The subject of this immunity from original sin is the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body.

". . .in the first instance of her conception . . ." The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul.

". . .was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin. . ." The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others by baptism; it was excluded, it never was in her soul. Simultaneously with the exclusion of sin. The state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice, as opposed to original sin, was conferred upon her, by which gift every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam -- from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death.

". . .by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race." The immunity from original sin was given to Mary by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Christ, by which other men are cleansed from sin by baptism. Mary needed the redeeming Saviour to obtain this exemption, and to be delivered from the universal necessity and debt (debitum) of being subject to original sin. The person of Mary, in consequence of her origin from Adam, should have been subject to sin, but, being the new Eve who was to be the mother of the new Adam, she was, by the eternal counsel of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. Her redemption was the very masterpiece of Christ's redeeming wisdom. He is a greater redeemer who pays the debt that it may not be incurred than he who pays after it has fallen on the debtor.

Such is the meaning of the term "Immaculate Conception."

PROOF FROM SCRIPTURE

Genesis 3:15

No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture. But the first scriptural passage which contains the promise of the redemption, mentions also the Mother of the Redeemer. The sentence against the first parents was accompanied by the Earliest Gospel (Proto-evangelium), which put enmity between the serpent and the woman: "and I will put enmity between thee and the woman and her seed; she (he) shall crush thy head and thou shalt lie in wait for her (his) heel" (Genesis 3:15). The translation "she" of the Vulgate is interpretative; it originated after the fourth century, and cannot be defended critically. The conqueror from the seed of the woman, who should crush the serpent's head, is Christ; the woman at enmity with the serpent is Mary. God puts enmity between her and Satan in the same manner and measure, as there is enmity between Christ and the seed of the serpent. Mary was ever to be in that exalted state of soul which the serpent had destroyed in man, i.e. in sanctifying grace. Only the continual union of Mary with grace explains sufficiently the enmity between her and Satan. The Proto-evangelium, therefore, in the original text contains a direct promise of the Redeemer, and in conjunction therewith the manifestation of the masterpiece of His Redemption, the perfect preservation of His virginal Mother from original sin.

Luke 1:28

The salutation of the angel Gabriel -- chaire kecharitomene, Hail, full of grace (Luke 1:28) indicates a unique abundance of grace, a supernatural, godlike state of soul, which finds its explanation only in the Immaculate Conception of Mary. But the term kecharitomene (full of grace) serves only as an illustration, not as a proof of the dogma.

Other texts

From the texts Proverbs 8 and Ecclesiasticus 24 (which exalt the Wisdom of God and which in the liturgy are applied to Mary, the most beautiful work of God's Wisdom), or from the Canticle of Canticles (4:7, "Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee"), no theological conclusion can be drawn. These passages, applied to the Mother of God, may be readily understood by those who know the privilege of Mary, but do not avail to prove the doctrine dogmatically, and are therefore omitted from the Constitution "Ineffabilis Deus". For the theologian it is a matter of conscience not to take an extreme position by applying to a creature texts which might imply the prerogatives of God.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

My Most Precious Faith (Part 10) Conclusion

2006-03-05T15:48:00.000-05:00

CONCLUSION

This writing is not in great detail nor have I pulled up a lot of scripture to quote and paste because this is not a study paper but as stated it is intended for my Children you to know the make up of that which I their Father has lived to believe and prays to have been devoted to in all his life.

I do pray that you will live a complete life in Christ and that when you come to the river of death we will be able together be in the celestial city and forever be with the Lord our God.

Finally let me say that for others that are reading this I suggest you write what you believe for your children. We live in a day where in many seek to destroy the faith of our children and we struggle to find way to witness to them. Some do better than others. I did this years ago not knowing if my life would be lived to see them grow. After a two year discussion with a dear friend he told me his father died when he was eight and he did not know what his father believed. After hearing this I decided to leave this for my children.

May God be pleased to use it in their lives and may this motivate you to leave something like this to your children as well. Copy this and place it in a nice presentable binder for your children if you desire. I suggest one per child. God Bless.

To My Children From Your Loving PAPA

Steve

My Most Precious Faith (Part 9) Basics Of The Lord's Coming Again

2006-03-05T15:24:00.000-05:00

OUR LORD'S COMING - A FEW BASICS

In my life I have found that there is great dissension in the body of Christ concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is just so much ambiguity regarding the circumstances of the second coming that I do not think there is anyone that can put it all together. I have been taught by premillenial dispensationalists, classical or historical premillenialists, amillenialists, and postmillenialists.

I have read thru the Old Testament the New Testament with a focus on all the basic passages about the second coming and have not been able to determine exacts. Especially as some people claim to do. I have come to a point in my readings that I am not a dispensational premil. I do state that the position I understand the Bible to put forth is postmil. Amil is a position I also have a lot of respect toward. I have said before that I intend to change positions from day to day according to how optimistic I feel when I get up from bed in the morning. Now please, this is a joke. I do not float on theological subjects according to how I feel. Humor me and laugh with me! What I really want to do is to lay down a few basics that I do find clearly understood and encouraging about the second coming.

I.) Christians of all ages have known that the scriptures teach:

A. That Christ will return visibly and bodily

B. That there is going to be a resurrection of all men

C. The judgment of all men

D. There was no way to tell when exactly Christ will return

NOTE: Those who believe the above are regarded as holding the Christian faith.

II.) Some particular understanding that I have discovered about the kingdom of Christ

A. The kingdom of God is already existent:

Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 16:19 “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Mark 9:1 “and He said unto them, verily I say unto you, that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.”

B. The kingdom of God is spiritual and invisible as opposed to worldly and material:

Luke 17:20 “and when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation”

John 3:3-21 “Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."

See Also 1 Thessalonians 2:12

C. The kingdom of God is everlasting:

Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

2 Peter 1:11 “For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

D. The kingdom of God is not the physical nation of Israel:

Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Revelation 11:15 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

E. At the consummation at the end of the age our Lord will deliver up the kingdom to the Father:

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him that God may be all in all.

(Note: The kingdom of God will never end. Then ending in this passage is just referring to the mediatory administrative function of the kingdom on the earth as we now live in and know it.)

III.) The scriptures declare that Christ’s return will be:

A. Without signs or warnings:

Matthew 24:36-39 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the son of man be for as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the son of man be.”

B. A scene wherein all men will be called from the grave:

John 5:28-29 “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Acts 24:15 “And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”

C. A day in which the earth and the heavens will melt away:

2 Peter 3:10-11 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

D. In the “last days”:

This is the name given the time we live in which is from the death and resurrection of Christ until He comes on the last day.

(Compare the passages: Heb 1:2; Jn 6:39; 11:24; 12:48, Acts 2:17; 2Tim.3:18; 2Pet. 3:3, 1Jn 2:18)

E. In a day of great apostasy:

2Thessalonians 2:7-10 “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

1 John 2:18 “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

F. A day of final subjection:

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 “Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

In conclusion I understand that the scriptures teach that the kingdom is a present reality. Jesus the Messiah has been ordained of the Father and anointed by the Holy Spirit to be our Prophet, Priest, and King. Christ is now King governing His people in his kingdom by his Word and by the Spirit, while preserving them and defending them in the salvation he obtained for them until the end of the world. The King will, after all the elect are regenerated, return in a day appointed and judge all men. And on that day I call the “horizon” of life the King will come in glory to finally stomp out all evil and His putting His enemies under His feet and then He delivers His Bride, the church, to God the Father. In this let us look for our coming King giving him all glory, laud, and honor.

My Most Precious Faith (Part 8) Prayer Our Duty And Pleasure

2006-03-05T15:12:00.000-05:00

Prayer Our Precious Duty and Pleasure

I have in my Christian walk experienced that this is a very hard task. The interesting thing is that prayer should be a pleasure and that it should be a convenient discipline to do. I have tried to learn to pray without ceasing and to pray for things as they arise. To get away just to pray as our Lord did is one of the hardest things that i have ever been able to do.

I do pray through the scriptures as I read them daily. I also love to sing the hymns of the faith which are mainly prayers. A good prayer book is very valuable when seeking direction as to how to pray in specific situations. The greatest direction for prayer, however, is found in the scriptures. The psalms are prayers that relate to the life experiences of the writer. They included praise, confession of sin, pleading for God's care daily over them, and prayers against their personal enemies. It is from the reading and praying of the psalms that I have overcome a lot of fears to praying and have learned to pray with emotion and conviction. There are also prayers that are very good to pray which Paul wrote in his letters to the churches. The prayer he prays in Ephesians chapter three verses fourteen through twenty-one is one of my favorities in praying for someone's personal growth to love the Lord more.

It has been my desire to teach you, my dear children, the prayer that the Lord taught the disciples to pray which is generally known as the Lord's Prayer. It is a prayer that can be used to pray for others when they ask you to pray for them without being given any specifics.

As to what we are to pray about we find in the prayer. Note that there is the wording; "our" and "us" which makes the model prayer a prayer for not only ones-self but a prayer for others as well.

What is the prayer that the Lord taught the disciples to pray? Matthew 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen.

Now it is commonly understood that the Lord's Prayer is framed in this manner:

A. The address then followed by
B. The six requests and then
C. The conclusion

Let's briefly look at each one of these for an understanding of the profound prayer that our Lord taught us to pray.

A. THE ADDRESS:

“Our Father which art in heaven,”

In the address we call upon God as our Father to hear us and to answer our prayer. Father is a term that we can use because we are adopted into the family of God through faith in the Lord Jesus . It is with child like faith that we approach our heavenly Father (Abba) asking him for the things necessary for this life and in the life to come.

We also acknowledge his place and position in heaven . He is in heaven and from his throne he rules over all. Even though we are his children we must approach him with all honor and respect because of who he is and the position that he holds as the God over all. We, therefore, approach God with reverence, in child like faith, with knowledge that we will be heard.

B. THE SIX PETITIONS:

“……… hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

The first petition: “hallowed be thy name”

The first thing we petition is "hallowed be thy name". In this petition we are asking and seeking to set God the Father's name above every name. I am also asking that I be enabled to put away all thoughts that would confuse my mind as to just who God is. In other words I am asking this: that in my mind approaching the throne in prayer, I may not have any improper thoughts of God. It may be that I am angry and thereby denying him the honor that he is due. I may even have some atheistic thoughts by not acknowledging God's providential care and sovereignty in what is happening in my particular circumstances.

So in this petition we are asking God to help us be able to bless him and praise him. We are seeking him to enable us to be aware of his wisdom, power, justice, holiness, goodness, truth, etc.. To put it another way we are asking God to direct all our thoughts as we approach him in prayer so that he will never be dishonored.

The second petition: “thy kingdom come”

The second petition is "thy kingdom come". To request this in our prayer is to ask that God would crush all Satanic forces and destroy all that would try to stand against the advancement of the kingdom of God, the Church.

It is also a petition that God would regenerate the hearts of men that they would come to Christ as Savior in repentance and faith.

We are also praying that the kingdom of God would be fully established and that all the enemies of Christ would soon be his footstool.

The third petition: “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

The third petition is "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". In heaven there is no sin and that is where the heart of the believer should be. The request is that as completely as the will of God is done in heaven so let that perfect will be done on Earth.

We are asking God to so sanctify and make us holy that we will deny our own selves, not loving this world, but purely love God so that the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are mortified. We pray this so that we will carry forth the will of God without any hindrance. We pray that we will do all which God has requested of us as faithfully as the angels always carry forth the will of God in heaven.

The fourth petition: “give us this day our daily bread”

The fourth petition is "give us this day our daily bread". In this petition we ask God to graciously provide all that is needed for life. That we would have the health to labor for the food and all domestic needs of our families and personal life. Also in requesting this we are looking to the one who holds the keys of death and hell, asking him to grant to us life and health in this present world for the purpose of glorifying him and for the expansion of God’s kingdom.

In receiving the necessities of life from God we also must acknowledge that he is keeping us from worry and from all doubt as to whether he is loving and caring toward us. Therefore, there is an element of peace and security in this prayer as we see know and rest upon God for his provision to us day by day. As we pray we are not looking at man nor any other creature for our daily provision but to God alone. And in that I find great comfort.

The fifth petition: "and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”

The fifth petition is "and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors". It is here that we see our need to be forgiven. We are recognizing our sin and are asking the blood of Christ to cleanse us and that as we are cleansed by Christ and forgiven so grant to us that we give grace to others and forgive them. The consolation given to us by God should and must be communicated to society around us. In salvation we have a work in our hearts and a love now not only to love our gracious God but also we are to love our neighbors even though they be indebted to us.

The sixth petition: "and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil".

The sixth petition, "and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil". In this petition we understand that we battle Satanic forces in this life. If that would be all then maybe it would be easier to live godly but there is also our own flesh and our own wordly lusts that are our own worst enemies. These guys never leave me alone!!!!!

We in this part of the prayer ask that God would deliver us from Satan, the devouring lion, and the sinful things that he can orchestrate and bring into our lives causing temptation and stumbling. We also ask that he would deliever us from our own sin and selfishness. It is sometimes we Christians that are our own worst enemies and we just need delievered from ourselves who enjoy the the love of the world.

C. THE CONCLUSION:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

In the conclusion we read the words "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen". We are closing the address we have had with the Father in an acknowledgement that the answering of these requests are in his power. In the ascribing to God the attributes of glory, power and immortality we are acknowledging our heavenly Father in being a God who is tender to his children and it is our understanding that he is willing to answer each of the specific requests.

In testifying to the assurance of the requests we have given, we end the prayer with the word "Amen" which is a term that signifies that all we requested is sure to be.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!!!

My Most Precious Faith (Part 7) Our Duty To Men

2006-03-05T13:38:00.000-05:00

Our Duty To Men - Commandments 5-10

The fifth commandment - Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the lord thy God giveth thee.

Believers are required in the fifth commandment to honor their parents as well as all that are in authority over them – Elders, Parents, Civil magistrates, Labor Foremans, Etc. We also must respect and honor those of equal callings in life with them. This commandment is a rule of life that tells us to respect each other in our various life positions.

The term father and mother is that used of our physical father and mother, but also represents those in authority over us in the family, church, employment, government.

We owe all those in authority over us reverence from a sincere heart and proper behavior as we are so directed by their guidance. We should be willing to learn from them all that is good and proper and to take any correction from them. We should be filled with thankfulness that we are blessed to be taught by them. If we are in rebellion against them, are talking about them in disgrace, or are mocking and slandering them in any way then we are sinning.

In order to properly obey the fifth command is for us to obey those in authority. For the one in authority to properly obey this command they are to treat those that they lead and guide with honor and respect. This includes loving them, praying for them, giving of time to counsel and instruct them in their duties as well as in the way of life everlasting. Those in authority are to cherish and nourish the people they are to lead so they are not exasperated in life, provoked to anger, nor dishonored in any way.

To those that are on equal calling in life we are to recognize the individual talents and encourage the use of them for the good of the family, church and society. We are not to undervalue the gifts that our peers have nor are we to put them down in such a way as to attain their portion in life and step on them "going up societies ladder".

The Lord has given a promise to them that obey this command - the promise of long life and prosperity. There have been countless testimonies of the elderly as to the great promises of this blessing being fulfilled. I sort of think that if it is true that stress shortens life then if we get this commandment under control and apply it in our lives that we too may, just on the health issue, live longer.

The sixth commandment – Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

In this short command we have the rule of the preservation of life. This commandment calls me to the diligent pursuit of life.

I am to avoid all sinful angry passions and not kill my neighbor in and by my thoughts, words, gestures, or deeds. I am also called to do that which I can do to preserve life by giving to the poor, standing against abortion and euthanasia, etc. I am also being called in this command to defend the weak and innocent in every possible way.

Another call of this command is to love my neighbor as myself, be peaceable, and be willing to forgive and be reconciled even when great wrong is done to me.

The performance of any sinful anger toward a person is wrong and ought not to be done. The laying aside of the duty to protect innocent life is a grave sin and a breaking of this commandment and is very often done in times of anger.

This commandment protects all life without doing away with the taking of life by our civil magistrates in our court system in capital offenses. God has commanded the death penalty in some instances and has placed this into the hands of our governmental system. Personal vindictiveness is not to be done. It is the government that has this duty and call.

Note that in this commandment there is no promise given. There is only the clearly stated command of what we are to do in society which is preserve life.

The seventh commandment - Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

At the end of this twentieth century this commandment is broken every day, hour and minute. Our industries are selling goods and wares based on the premises that a provocative scene with men, women and even children will sell everything from clothes to hamburgers. Christians are pressured to see this if they desire any kind of outside entertainment in their home through television, for this comes into view every ten minutes or so on the commercials that market the products that pay for the entertainment. It is very important to ask this question to yourself in this culture today, "How can I best keep this commandment in all that it requires?". I am not going to try to answer this question for you at this time, but you will see the frame work to answer this question in as I state what is required in this commandment.

It is required in this command that we be pure in our heart and conduct and that we do nothing that would provoke adultery in thought or deed in ourselves or in any other. We also are in every way and in all things keep marriage honorable as God has established one man for one woman forever, "till death do us part".

To do all that this commandment requires is a call to control all our thoughts towards others so that they are pure and chaste. It was told to us by our Lord Jesus that to think improper thoughts in lust is the same as if we have committed adultery already.

There is also a need to address the provocative clothing situation. The clothes being "designer" is made to attract the fit to the body and does in many instances cause a provoking of the male/female senses in lustful sexual thinking. We are called on this commandment to dress in modesty. Modesty is the orderly wearing of clothing, not the drawing attention to the body nor is it to be so that there is a down playing the body. Modesty in no way will in and of itself provoke unchaste thoughts.

We are called to all the holy duties of keeping the marriage pure and undefiled. If married or when you are married you are to seek to meet each others sexual needs so that there be no door opened for Satan to enter in when there is need for intimate sexual relations. In other words all the conjugational duties are to be fully met in the marriage bond as a preventive measure against adultery.

It possibly need not be stated that sins against this commandment are rape, incest, fornication, sodomy or any unnatural lusts, impure thoughts, or imaginations that run wild with all types of impurity such as bestiality or the "sexual slave and master mentality", orgies etc. It may need to be stated that the breaking of this command is done when there is an undue delay in marriage for "it is better to marry than to burn" and better to marry than to enter into a fornicative relationship with a person when there are sexual needs that need to be met. A word of caution: I am not saying to marry for sex, but if the person is a believer and you see the need of a mate in life so that you can multiply and fulfill the societal function as husband and wife and family and this person is one whom you have a difficulty controlling your sexual needs with then rather than sin in breaking this command it is better to marry and not delay than both you and this person find that you have greatly sinned.

To the married the plain command of the seventh commandment is to guard your marriage in thought, word and action to love your spouse and be enthralled with that union till death do you part. Not to guard your marriage and hold it honorable is sin.

The eighth commandment - Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

The eighth commandment requires us to do what we can for the good of our neighbor treating them fair with honesty in business dealings as social equals. It also requires of me to work diligently the six days God has established so that I can provide for my family and share my goods with the poor and needy. The eighth commandment requires of me the diligence to pursue a wealth or outward estate for myself and for others.

The sin in the eighth commandment is that against stealing. Stealing is doing anything that would hinder the good of your fellow man. Theft in the sight of God includes any cheating or swindling of our neighbor through schemes that would possibly appear legal. False weights and measures, A wrong or bent way of advertising goods which you would sell your neighbor in such a way that would hide defaults in the product being sold, etc, etc.

In Christian circles throughout history there have been times when the upper class has separated itself from the middle or lower class and then if their lives touch at all it is either very short lived or it is only in contact through missionaries, or benevolent agencies. Please understand that whatever you procure in life the objective is to use the gain in the manner prescribed in scripture. The means by which you procure your gain is to be godly and the way in which you use and distribute your gain is to be in a godly fashion paying tithe, giving to the poor, caring about others. We must remember it is pure religion that does not forget the most needy such as the widow and orphan.

I request that you in your life be a servant to all that are in need that come your way. I pray for you that if God does not see fit that you should have the gain to help others but that others need help you that God would so work in the hearts of his people that truly you would never lack the necessities of life.

The ninth commandment - Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

The simple requirement of the nineth commandment is to simply tell the truth. This speaks against any malicious lying about someone or the giving of false testimony. The twisting of the truth to fit our own design is strictly forbidden. There should be no gossiping or unjust condemnation of anyone without a proper hearing or without a just cause and this with the proper witnesses.

The commandment requires us to maintain and promote truth between each other and with all our fellow man.

If we are called in witness against someone we are to speak the truth. As I have told you dear children please tell the truth even though it may hurt, it is the best thing! The saying that "the truth never hurts" is a lie as can be seen for obvious reasons. Even though it may hurt it is always proper to state truth rather than lie.

To lie is to succumb to the tactics of the father of lies, the devil. Note that Christians are to follow the God of the universe not the “god of this world”. In following Christ we will love truth. We will therefore speak letting our “yea be yea” and our “nay be nay”. In doing this we will be seeking our own best interest and the interest of our neighbor.

The tenth commandment - Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

This commandment requires that we be content with what we have in life whether much or plenty. We are to be fully content with our lot in life and in being content we will not desire to break any of the commandments or as I call them rules of life. We will worship God properly recognizing his sovereign and providential control in the things we have been provided in life. We will have learned to be content as the Apostle Paul called us to in his writings in the epistles.

We are forbidden in this command to grieve over or envy anything that is our neighbors. We must recognize the proper ownership and providential care God has given to others, and that it may be and possibly will be different than the care he has given to ourselves.

I must again confess my sin: I have not nor could not ever keep these commandments for daily I sin against God and against my fellow man. I struggle daily in my thinking I am sometimes angered wrongly when I think that God is doing something "unfair "to me.

I also say things I should not say against others and again I sin just in questioning the providential things of God. There is then the actions of anger or not doing what I should or the doing what I should not do that also is part of my being. The breaking of the commandments happens daily in thought, word, and action.

This happens with all men in every generation and always will. The only person that has not sinned in thought, word and deed is Christ himself, who was the sinless son of God.

Not being able to keep these commandments I do not see myself as a non-Christian. I see myself as a sinner and I know that Christ alone has lived the perfect life, shed his blood and died in my place on the cross. This same Christ has also placed all his righteousness on me and when the Father looks at me he does not see me as sinful but he sees me clothed in the pure and real righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Even though that which I have just stated is correct, the commandments are still to be forcefully preached and taught. We are to be instructed by the church, as Christians, in the requirements, duties , and sins that are forbidden in the commandments. This is to be done so that we can more and more our need for the salvation given us in Christ in order to drive us more and more to the cross for the continual cleansing power of the blood. Also the value in preaching and teaching the commandments is so that we believers, while praying to God for a more holy life by the power of the Holy Spirit, will see and know the holy commands and will strive to be more and more conformed into the image of God so that we will love the Lord with all the heart and our neighbor as ourselves. This is the sum of the tem commandments.

My Most Precious Faith (Part 6) Our Dury To God

2006-03-05T12:44:00.000-05:00

Our Duty To God – Commandments 1-4

The first commandment – Who To Worship? Exodus 20:2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

The first commandments directs us to worship the only one living and true God, to acknowledge him to be thus and to worship him giving glory to him. I am to trust in him alone for every good thing. My heart is to praise, honor, adore, and fear him so as to not ever go against the will of the almighty.

That which is forbidden is a trust in anyone or anything other than the Creator. Also it is forbidden to deny God and / or not to worship the God of the Bible as the only true God. This is at the heart of this command.

God who is all knowing and everywhere present sees any sin that we would commit. In this commandment it is understood that to break any command is the an act that denies him worship. In that we resort to the worship our "own man made god". With our "own god's" we become guilty and with that the God of the Bible is angry and displeased and we fall under his displeasure. On the other hand to worship him alone is to please him and with that there are many blessings from him to us.

The second commandment – How To Worship? Exodus 20:4-6 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

This commandment calls the believer to the keep worship pure and worship only as directed by his word. We are forbidden to have images of any kind that would represent God or his deity for God cannot and may not be portrayed other than by his character which is given us in his word. We may not in any way worship him other that prescribed in his Word.

We are obligated to worship purely because God is sovereign and he is desirous of pure worship an is zealous to be worshiped alone.

To worship an image or idol is to worship a "thing" that cannot speak or is dumb. To worship as some of the cults and false religions do is to worship an idol of gold, silver, works, or dead men at best. To worship falsely is to bring judgment upon you and your family. But for the true worshipper there is blessing not only for the worshipper, but for his family as well. The Christian worships the all wise, all powerful, everywhere present, living God who sees and knows all things and bestows blessings upon families. He is active in his creation knowing who and what they worship!

The third commandment – Honor in Worship Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

This commandment requires us to reverence God's name, word, and works. Even though we do not understand the happenings in our life or the world around us many times we are to give thanks to God for his guiding all things by his Fatherly hand. There is no room for "chance" or "luck" but only room for God's decrees and providential guidance. We are to pray to him in all things with thanksgiving, reverence, and awe. We are never to use his name in any unholy manner whatever may befalls us.

We are called to control our thoughts, words, and actions so as to uplift his name in honor at all times. There is no room for a slip of the tongue in this commandment. To blaspheme makes God angry and commands the death penalty. Our love and devotion is to be toward him in the utmost at all times and in everything. To break this commandment is to suffer the righteous judgment of God, for the Lord will not hold any man that breaks this command guiltless.

The fourth commandment – The Day To Worship Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the lord thy god: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

This is the commandment which most Christians ignore, or are unsure of, or do not believe exists for the New Testament believer. This is very sad for it is a creational command. The sabbath was made for man not man for the sabbath. The sabbath was kept from Adam to Moses, and from Moses to the Lord Jesus, and then he, the Christ, took away all the false teachings that surrounded it and showed that is a good non-burdensome command.

The requirements of the commandment is a day in the week, after six days of labor, to worship the Lord, to learn God's worship, and to rest from all the normal worldly activities. It is the day to do works of worship reading the word of God, pray, self examination and partaking of the sacraments. It is a day to give of yourself to works of love in the areas of mercy and necessity. It is a day sanctified to the pious duty of our true, pure and peaceful religion.

The New Testament sabbath is the first day of the week, commonly called the Lord's day. This day is to be kept holy until the end of the world. It is the Christian sabbath. It is this day that our Lord rose from the dead. The early church met for worship and alms giving on this most holy day. It is this day that the psalmist said to rejoice and be glad in.

The commandant is a call to remembrance. In our labor in six days with the "thorns and thistles" of life we may often forget to prepare for and keep this day set apart from all others. The commandment is to all the heads of institutions ie; families and businesses. They are bound to keep the commandment themselves but also they are to see that is observed by all those under their authority. In other words the employer is to so run the business so that the employees are in no way hindered from keeping the Christian sabbath. In the same way all the family is to keep the sabbath and the father's must never direct their wives and children in any other way other than observing the Lord's day and keeping it holy.

It has been rightly said that "as goes the observance of the sabbath so goes the spiritual life of the family and the church". This is a statement I agree with for if we do not set this day aside for our worship and reflection we will forget the other commandments and holy duties as Christians. We will forget to be thankful, our worldly employments and pleasures will overtake us, and we will forget the God who bought us with his own blood.

In not keeping the sabbath we greatly sin for we do not do the works and duties of pure worship, we think on the things of this world and we do not examine ourselves in our walk with the Lord .in essence we go about living in our on way.

We are at a point in looking at the rules of life that we need to be reminded that the first four commandments speak to us of our duty to God . Next we enter into thinking about the last six commandments and understand that they teach us our duty to our fellow man.

My Most Precious Faith (Part 5) Living in Grace and Gratitude

2006-03-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

Living In Grace and Gratitude

The Duty of Man

At creation Adam was given the command not to eat of the forbidden fruit, also in essence he was given the moral law of God. Adam was to love and obey God and also was to love the creation. He, in the fall broke the greatest of all commandants and did not love the Lord God and did not love his fellow man (he blamed Eve for his sin). The moral law was established not just for believers but for mankind, and Gods creation perpetually.

The moral law is the declaration of God's will that binds mankind to personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience. It is always binding, is always moral and will never go away. Also there is no mere man that has kept the law of God since the fall. However Christ the Godman did!

The moral law is of use to all mankind in that informs us of the holy nature and will of God. By it mankind is told of their duty in the way they are to worship and live. In looking at the moral law of God mankind's sinful hearts are revealed to them and therefore, if by grace God favors them, they will see their need of salvation and come to a clear knowledge of the work of Christ in his perfect obedient life and his death for sins.

In the salvation of Christ, believers are no longer obligated to keep the moral law as a way of salvation nor as a means of justification. The law does however show me how I am bound to Christ in his work of perfect obedience and salvation for me. It also is the standard of holy moral rules that we as a Christian are to obey. This obedience is not to be out of burden but out of love for my Savior. For as the elder John said, God's commands are not burdensome.

The moral law is summarized in the 10 commandments which are:

Exodus 20:1-3 And God spake all these words, saying,Ii am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:4-6 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Exodus 20:9-11 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the lord thy god: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Exodus 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

These commandment's I like to call the rules of life. These commandments are righteous. They teach us how to worship (the first four), and how to love our fellowman (the last six).

Duty to God Duty to Our Fellow Man
1) who to worship 5) family and those in authority
2) how to worship 6) life preservation
3) honor in worship 7) chastity
4) the day to worship 8) ownership
9) integrity
10) contentment

The commandments are perfect and call for full obligation and duty to fulfill them if we are to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbor. These commandments are so perfect that they not only call us to an outward duty but also to inward understanding so that it reaches the will and emotions thereby guiding our speech, works, and actions. They call the believer to a life response; for the believer to do otherwise is sin.

NEXT WE will look at the ten commandments

a. listing them in their order,

b. stating each one,

c. noting the actions required, and then

d. Note some of what is to be avoided or what is forbidden

My Most Precious Faith (Part 4) Concerning The Sacraments

2006-03-03T16:05:00.000-05:00

Concerning The Sacraments; Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

It is quite amazing that God has always used the means of the written word to proclaimed truth to his creation and to his people. But what is more amazing is that he has always since the dawn of time used symbols as well to communicate truth which he wants us to know. For example with Adam in the garden, the tree of life represented life if he obeyed God and did not eat the forbidden fruit. With Noah the rainbow symbolized the expounded truth that the earth would be preserved until the very end and would no longer be dealt in the way that God had dealt with it at the flood. For the believer the symbolic representations have never ceased and there are two symbols that are used quite frequently in the church; baptism and the Lord's supper.

In these sacrifices Christ communicates to his people the benefits that are ours in our redemption. We are enabled by this means of communication to understand more clearly the promise of the gospel, and know that God has set his seal upon us, and that we are his, and by his grace he is ours.

Baptism:

In baptism God's people are set apart as a member of the church and have the mark symbolizing the covenant of grace upon them by the means of baptism . The baptism symbolizes many things: 1) solemn admission into the visible church, 2) the symbol of the covenant of grace 3) symbolizes regeneration, 4) the cleansing from sins by the blood of Christ, 4) a walk of sanctification in newness of life.

Please understand that baptism itself does not wash away the sin nor remove our guilt, that is only done by the blood of Christ. Baptism would symbolize something like this: as we need to daily cleanse our body from the dirt and grime we come in contact with so the washing away of our sin and guilt is done by the blood of Jesus. Baptism symbolizes this washing.

Baptism is not only to be administered to believers but also to their children. There are two extremes to avoid when looking at the issue of your children. Firstly, that children are regenerated by the baptism and that they do not need to personally make a profession of faith in the savior. The second error is that the children have no real place in the church before they confess their faith, therefore they are seen just as objects of evangelism.

please understand that children always have had a place in the church and are to be treated with great respect and utmost care in discipline them in the most holy faith. Notice the command Jesus gave concerning the children

Matthew 19:13-15 Tthen were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But jesus said, suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

In the Old Testament every male child was circumcised as a sign to show that they were God's people and to point the child toward the need of a Savior to be cleansed from their sins. It also sealed to that child the promise of God that he would be his God and the God of his family, And that they were to be the recipients of scriptural teaching while enjoying all the benefits of the people of God. The circumcision was also a warning that there were cursings if they did not love the Lord their God with all heart, mind, soul and strength and their neighbor as they love themselves. So baptism is also to us and our children the signifying of the blessings to those who walk faithfully and the cursings for those who do not walk faithfully.

I am so thankful for not only my salvation but for the promise of God to you, my children:

Genesis 17:7 and i will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a god unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And again acts 2:39 for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the lord our god shall call.

Praise be to God for his great plan of salvation and the blessings he brings to families.

Imperfect as I have been and/or was please understand that I have desired and sought to teach you the word of God in all of life by instruction, correction, example, and encouragement.

If I have failed in my less than perfect state then I beg your forgiveness and ask that God will overshadow my weaknesses and I am trusting him to fulfill the promises of the covenant to be your God.

Lord's Supper:

Want to talk about a meal full of symbolism then lets look at this sacrament from Paul's epistle:

Corinthians 11:23-34 for i have received of the lord that which also i delivered unto you, that the lord jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the lord's death till he come.

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that edith and drinketh unworthily, edith and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

But when we are judged, we are chastened of the lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will i set in order when i come.

Paul first and foremost states that the partaking of the bread and wine is the "eating of the crucified body and the drinking of his (Christ's) poured out blood. You may think that this is weird and not clear so the questioned begged is this, "What does this actually mean?". The Lord answered the question in the words, "This is my body" when referring to the bread and, "this is my blood" when referring to the wine. The Lord Jesus being present at the last supper was not in the bread nor in the wine but it was a symbol of that which was going to happen and now for the post resurrection believer a symbol of that which did happen. When believers were to partake of the supper they were to remember the new covenant in Christ's name and were to grasp the symbol that Christ died for them and they need him for spiritual life and health. The meal symbolizes our redemption in the work of Christ in his sufferings and death.

There is also the symbol of the unity of the communion of the saints, the bond in Christ of the brotherhood. Paul in the eleventh chapter of 1st Corinthians states that it was not good that there was disunity in the coming together to eat the meal of the lord but in verse thirty-three he asks them to tarry or wait for one another. This is a communion meal that not only symbolizes the suffering and crucifixion of Christ, but the new covenant of God entered into with the elect; ie, the body of Christ the church.

It is also a meal symbolizing our need to search the motives and affections of our own hearts. In fact we are called to do this very thing so that we would not come to eat with non-understanding hearts unrecognizing that we are sinners and stand in need of grace. To come to the meal in an unguarded manner is to come to a meal of judgment. We are told that it was for this reason that many in Corinth were weak, sick, and even dead. It is a meal of self judgment! In this self judgment please recognize that you are a sinner, that there is no good in you, but also in faith fall at the cross and consider the broken body and the shed blood and partake of the supper giving thanks to God almighty that he has purchased you with his precious blood. When you partake of the body and blood of Christ in the supper you are also partaking of a supper that places you in the position of an evangelist. In eating the supper you are proclaiming the Lord's death and not only that you are proclaiming the Lord's return at the last day. Oh! What a wonder testimony we have been given every time we partake of the Lord's supper. Let's do pray that if anyone sees this in our worship that they can declare saving faith in Christ and say amen in this supper of proclamation.

In summary the Lord’s supper is to be received by those who know that the Lord Jesus died in their place, have examined themselves in this knowledge, and know that they properly understand the Lord's body in His Death and His body – the Church. They must know that in his work alone they are redeemed from sin and that they have repented of sin and trust in him alone for salvation. They also must be walking according to their profession with an obedience to him as Lord and Savior in all of life in and outside the Church.

Only those who do not believe or are under excommunication of the church should not partake of the Lord's Supper. All believers should partake of this great and glorious meal.

I need at this point to define briefly what church discipline is, what it's purpose is, and its benefits.

Church discipline is the calling of every believer to support all other believers in the encouraging, exhorting, admonishing warning, and rebuking to put away sin and live a holy life. The purpose of this is done for the glory of God, the purity of the church, and brotherly restoration. There are times when someone has sinned and will not repent of his or her sin then the church is called in to work with the brother or sister to repent. When this fails then those who fail to repent are excluded from Christian fellowship and the sacraments are then withheld.

If at some point the person repents demonstrating real genuine reform they are to be taken back into fellowship as members of Christ and his church. This is the whole reason for the blessedness of discipline; ie, restoration for the glory of Christ and his kingdom.

In my life I have experienced the heartache of having my sin shown to me by believers, and been the receipent of Church discipline. I have had the pleasure of the joy that comes from renewed fellowship after repenting and seeking forgiveness. The believers that have disciplined me have always been there to love me after the fact. Praise this most blessed work of the church in my life.

My Most Precious Faith (Part 3) Belief of A Christian

2006-03-03T09:20:00.000-05:00

BELIEF OF A CHRISTIAN

All that one needs to believe with the heart, unto salvation is summarized in the Apostles Creed. It is a document of three parts: 1) That concerning God the Father and our creation; 2) that concerning God the Son and our salvation; 3) that concerning God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification.

So at this point in my faith I must state that it has been revealed of God that he is a Triune being. That is, that he is the one tru and eternal God existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Godhead are equal in substance, power and glory.

THE APOSTLES CREED

I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST HIS ONLY SON,OUR LORD,WHO WAS
CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST,BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY,
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE WAS CRUCIFIED DEAD AND BURIED;HE DESCENDED INTO HELL.THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD. HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY. HE SHALL COME TO JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD.
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST,THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH,
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND LIFE EVERLASTING. Amen

GOD THE FATHER (Part 1)

I do, my dear, children believe in the Creator God which created the world and all that is in it. The world and all that in it is He created out of nothing. It was in six days that he created the world by the word of his omnipotent power. It is this great and powerful God who that sustains all that he has created. He has executed his decrees in the works of creation and providence so that all things which he hath foreordained comes to pass. This simply means that not only has he created the heavens and the earth but he also rules and upholds them by his power according to his decrees.

Now since He is the Creator and all things are upheld by his decrees then “lady luck” is out of the question. There is no such thing as the proverbial "luck" which is used in our language. Neither is there any such thing as "chance". But whatever comes in life comes by the provision of God, worked by his ever present and almighty power so that whatever happens in life is done not by "chance" but by the most holy wise decrees of God.

As I have come to know and understand this I have become a more patient man. I know that in sickness or health or whatever may befall you or I we are in his hands and that with his care and guidance I can live in peace and thankfulness.

GOD THE SON (Part 2)

Who is this Lord Jesus Christ that I so profoundly profess to you? What does my life have to do with him? Just who does the Bible proclaims him to be?

The bible proclaims him to be the Son of God and that his name is Jesus which means Savior. It is he, the second Person of the Trinity that has delivered me from all my sins and has saved me. There is in no other but jesus, the savior, that salvation can be found.

It is useless to seek for salvation in any church, creed, mere man, or any institution. To do so is to deny the Savior and the salvation that he alone can give. But to those who truly believe in Jesus there is found in him all that is necessary for the salvation of the soul.

It is this Jesus that has been anointed or ordained by the Father who is called "Christ". He has been ordained by the Father and anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the great prophet and teacher to reveal to us the plan of God and the mystery of the faith.

He has been ordained as our high priest to be a sacrifice for our sins and to plead our cause before the Father almighty. He also in our salvation is the King of his kingdom, into which we belong. In that kingdom Christ defends us. He being our Savior knows that we are weak and helpless and that we need His governing and defense. In Christ I am delivered, taught and protected so that I am free to live unto him in the salvation he has procured for me. He is God and is called that many times within scripture. Many times the Bible calls him the son of God. This name is a name that directs attention to his deity and function in the Godhead.

The son of God is distinct from the term believers have as the "children of God" for in that terminological understanding we are designated as being creatures that have been delivered from sin and have been adopted into the family of God being saved by grace. In this calling we have all the privileges as a son to our heavenly Father. He loves us, cares for us, provides for us, and disciplines us as sons. In all of this we still are not, nor have we become God or a “lesser god” but have become connected in an adopted relationship to the father in Christ in our eternal salvation.

Jesus is not my "big brother" he is my Lord I belong to him, I have been brought with a price. This redemption was not with dollars, the euro, gold or silver but with the blood of his precious self. I was on the road to hell the price to turn the Father’s wrath from me was very expensive and it was the Lord Jesus Christ who purchased me and delivered me from Satan and hell. Now I am his and he owns me. In other words God himself died for me and now possesses me as his own and I am to live in his kingdom under his kingdom law with all the privileges as a king's son.

The Son of God took upon himself the form of a servant through natural birthing process with the exception of having no earthly father. The Lord Jesus was conceived not by ordinary means but by the Third person of the trinity the Holy Spirit’s overshadowing / impregnating of Mary. He therefore became man with a reasonable soul, a true body, thereby becoming a true descendant of David's lineage. He is and ever will be truly God who became truly man.

In becoming man he was in a state of humiliation in that he was born in a lowly condition, born under law, under went the miseries of this life, had the wrath of the Father placed upon him for my sins, and was cursed with the death of the cross.

In the sufferings of Christ he supported in both His body and soul the whole of God's wrath for me and the sins of all the elect. He did this so that my sins would be atoned for and that the wrath of the Father would be turned from me. Bless his most holy Name. He took upon himself all my sins and went to the accursed death of the cross.

By faith in Jesus Christ I am linked to him at the cross. I am dead to sin and alive to righteousness. The evil ambitions and desires no longer have control over me. I have the Holy Spirit that energizes me both to will and to do of his good pleasure. I am being changed daily in heart and in conduct. I truly am a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ. I am, in my whole being, progressively being renewed in the image of God so that I may die more and more to sin daily and live more righteous. The sufferings of Christ has delivered me from the wrath of God. In his resurrection I have several benefits. First is the benefit that death as been overcome. Secondly, by his power I am resurrected to a sanctified life in Christ Jesus. Thirdly I am guaranteed a glorious resurrection of the body at the last day for He that has the keys both of hell and of death. With them He has opened life to me.

Christ not only suffered, died, and rose again for me but he even now sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father interceding for me. I am still prone to sin and sin daily in thought, word, and deed. This is not a pretty picture of me. However, I am so very thankful that I have a high priest which has passed into the heavens that intercedes in my behalf before the Father. He having lived in humiliation can understand my needs and knows first hand my every weakness. Christ being before the Father is not only an act of power but also of love which assures me of the reality that when I need him he is there. Also when this life is over he will carry me to the celestial city where he himself is seated at the right hand of God the Father.

He, being in heaven at the right hand of the Father, declares his power and authority as Head and King of the church. His position also declares that the Father is ruling all things through the Lord Jesus. It is in this kingship function that he has poured out upon his church the blessed Holy Spirit and has given me and all his people gifts for the mutual service and edification of each other. He is also defending his church, from the throne, against the enemy of our souls which seeks to devour us, which is Satan.

Christ will come again at the last day to judge the living and the dead. For the believer, when he comes, we will be safe at the judgment for the very one that will appear to judge the world in righteousness has already stood trial in the elects place before the Father, having removed the wrath of the Father and the guilt from us, and therefore I will be judged righteous as the one who is Judge is righteous Himself. In other words I will stand as righteous as Jesus Christ himself. But this is not so for the unbeliever for they are still guilty before the Father, their sin is upon them and they have lived as enemies of God. For the believer he will say for them to enter into eternal heaven but for the unbeliever he will say to depart forever and be cast into hell.

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part 3)

I now want to let you know about my faith concerning the Holy Spirit. It is very important to know the comforter of my faith given to me by the Lord Jesus.

It is of the Holy Spirit that I have come to believe in the Lord Jesus as my Savoir. He worked in my heart and changed me from a spiritually dead person and one who had no desire to seek God, to a person who believed the gospel message, got emotional about my sin, and placed my soul and life in his hands under the blood he shed for salvation. In all of this he comforts me and abides with me forever. It has been the Spirit that has applied to me this great salvation that Jesus procured on the cross.

The Holy Spirit placed me into the body of Christ, his church. He has given me and others the gifts needed to help us grow in our faith and has also given the church the "means of grace" by which we can grow as well. These means of grace are the word of God, the sacraments, and church discipline. It is in this church that I have communion with other believers, and am ready and cheerfully desirous to serve others in the fellowship of the saints.

The Holy Spirit has put me into the holy catholic church which is the one and only true church. It is that church that has been pure in doctrine throughout all ages and has and always will be until the consummation at the end of the age. It is because of the work of the Holy Spirit that I am Christian and have the forgiveness of sins for he alone worked in my heart to believe the gospel. I know of a surety that my sins will never be held against me and that I am in right standing with the Father for I do believe on the Lord Jesus.

The power of the Holy Spirit raised up Christ's body from the dead and that same power and work of the Holy Spirit will give life to my mortal body at death. My soul at death will be made perfect in holiness and I will pass into glory. At death the body will return to dust until the resurrection, wherein my body and soul will be united in glorification and I will be made like Christ's glorious body.

My Christian experience and joy now is just the beginning of eternal life. My eye has not seen nor has my ear heard nor have I fully experienced the total blessedness that I will on the day I enter the celestial city. Even though that be so, I do now experience eternal life in the kingdom of God. I want to ask you, my children, "are you right with God?," Do you know that you have not kept the commandments of God?", "Do you really see and know that you are a sinner in need of salvation from the wrath of God?",. "Have you repented of your sin and placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?" the gift of eternal life is free to those that believe. Believe and be delivered or walk away and perish. The prayer of my life for you is that salvation will come to you and your house. If it has then I suggest you pass this statement of faith on to your children and grandchildren calling them to faith in the Son of God.

My Most Precious Faith (Part 2) Deliverance Accomplished

2006-03-03T09:10:00.000-05:00

DELIVERANCE FROM THE MISERY AND GUILT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED

The question before us at this time is, "if according to God's righteous judgment I deserve punishment both in this world and in the world to come, then how can I escape this punishment and return to God's favor?". We cannot repay this great debt that we owe and we increase our guilt every day. My dilemma is based on knowledge that I am helpless, dead in trespasses and sins. I am under the justice of a holy God and on my way to eternal death and separation, unless He has wisdom that can satisfy His justice and deliver me from my sin and guilt and turn his anger from me.

Now I found in the Bible the teaching that God from all eternity out of His good pleasure elected others as well as myself to everlasting life by the way of a covenant of grace with Jesus Christ to deliver the us out of the state of sin and misery I have found myself in. Not only this but He then brings us into a state of deliverance and salvation.

This deliverance had to be done by someone who is truly human and truly righteous, not one who would or could sin. This person had to be God. The only redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ who, being God, took upon himself humanity to fulfill the punishment due to my sins.

I am aware that it may be that at this time you are skeptical. However, the scriptures from the beginning reveal the gospel even in paradise and then in the writings of the prophets and the psalms. The holy patriarchs proclaimed the deliverance by looking forward to a Messiah who would come and die in their place. Showing their faith, they offered sacrifices on God's altar showing their faith in God's promised deliverer.

As the people of God of old I am a person of true faith having a knowledge of that which has been promised and that which was delivered. I am also convinced that all which God has said is true in His word. There is also an assurance that in Christ I am forgiven and have been made right with God - being granted salvation. This great faith is not of myself but is of God alone, worked in my heart, by the blessed Holy Spirit.

2006-03-03T02:50:00.000-05:00

My Most Precious Faith (Part 1)

Introduction

This writing is dedicated to those who have given of their time, talent, and service to disciple me in my most holy faith. I think of Bob Burridge, Cornelius Groenwegen and family of Paul Russell, of my beloved wife and children who have continuously called on me to be pure in doctrine and teaching, to all of you thanks and to you I am truly grateful.

This writing is for my children so that all my life even after the Lord has called me home I will have been able to have let them know wherein lieth my hope in life and death.

If you read this and say that the flavor is that of a confession you are correct. It is what I believe. So with this in mind my dear children this is what your father desires you to know, understand and live for and by.

Your Father's Comfort Is In Christ

I have come to the point in life to know that outside of Jesus Christ there is no comfort. Whether I believe in him or not I have a soul and body. He as judge will judge me at death. I am so thankful that he has been pleased to call me unto belief, and that I do rest in the precious blood which he shed to pay a ransom for me, and for the covering of my sins. He has set me free and has put me on solid ground he has established my path way and my destiny and he will carry me to the celestial city of God. I have this comfort in my life and I have the assurance of all this comfort due to the work of the Holy Spirit in me. It is he that makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready to serve the Lord Jesus and to desire to live for him.

I have been taught by him that I am a great sinner and that I have been set free from the guilt and misery of my sin, now I thank God for my deliverance and for this great comfort.

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My Sin Made Known

I have come to know my sin because of what the law of God tells me. Christ taught what the law requires of us:

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

I am an imperfect man. I find that in my Body there dwells sin that I battle constantly. I have known that I am always at a crossroads in life and that I naturally tend to hate God and my fellow man. I sin by doing what God commands me not to do or I sin in omitting that which God expressly states that I am to do. Why I am in this state comes from the reality and effects of the fall of man in Adam’s sin. This is called original sin.

I am sinful in my whole being and am guilty before God. The sinful state that I am in consists of the effect of and the guilt from Adam's sin. The sin and transgressions that I commit proceed from this original sin. In the sin of Adam I, was made liable to all the miseries of this life and therefore was brought under the curse of God. There is in me death. This is physical death as well as spiritual death. I Look to God for grace to be bestowed to me and I understand that without His grace I am cursed to the pains of hell forever.

Now I do not now or ever blame God for my misery nor for the misery of mankind. But I acknowledge that God created man good, in his image in true righteousness and holiness. It was in the creature man that at creation God gave the ability and rational mind that they might truly know the Creator and love and serve him. In the state of man at creation mankind had the ablity to live in total peace without any misery.

Therefore the disobedience of Adam and Eve, our first parents, has so marred man that his conscience is seared and that he is poison and corrupt in his mind and heart, men are born sinners corrupt and miserable from conception. It is known that I am a sinner. My God in his word has revealed this to me, my heart reveals this to me, my fellow man reveals this to me. But I am so glad that my most holy faith does not stop at this point in my understanding. I’m so excited that there is a story of mercy and a work of God in my life so that I can start to overcome sin and selfishness in Christ Jesus the Lord.

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GOD IS JUST IN HIS REQUIREMENTS OF US TO KEEP HIS LAW

Even though man is so corrupt that he is so inclined to do evil continually unless he is born again, it is improper to think that God is unjust for requiring mankind to keep the requirements of the law. Please know that God created humans with the ability to keep the law.

God is holy and He will not permit disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished. He is angry about the sin we are born with and the sins that we personally commit. Everyone is cursed who does not do all his holy way. He will and must, as a just God, punish sin. All sin deserves God's wrath and curse in this life and in the life to come.

Now be it known that the justice of God in punishing sin in no way destroys his mercy. All sin even if he is to show some creatures mercy must be dealt with in a just manner.

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DELIVERANCE FROM THE MISERY AND GUILT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED

The question before us at this time is, "if according to God's righteous judgment I deserve punishment both in this world and in the world to come, then how can I escape this punishment and return to God's favor?". We cannot repay this great debt that we owe and we increase our guilt every day. My dilemma is based on knowledge that I am helpless, dead in trespasses and sins. I am under the justice of a holy God and on my way to eternal death and separation, unless He has wisdom that can satisfy His justice and deliver me from my sin and guilt and turn his anger from me.

Now I found in the Bible the teaching that God from all eternity out of His good pleasure elected others as well as myself to everlasting life by the way of a covenant of grace with Jesus Christ to deliver the us out of the state of sin and misery I have found myself in. Not only this but He then brings us into a state of deliverance and salvation.

This deliverance had to be done by someone who is truly human and truly righteous, not one who would or could sin. This person had to be God. The only redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ who, being God, took upon himself humanity to fulfill the punishment due to my sins.

I am aware that it may be that at this time you are skeptical. However, the scriptures from the beginning reveal the gospel even in paradise and then in the writings of the prophets and the psalms. The holy patriarchs proclaimed the deliverance by looking forward to a Messiah who would come and die in their place. Showing their faith, they offered sacrifices on God's altar showing their faith in God's promised deliverer.

As the people of God of old I am a person of true faith having a knowledge of that which has been promised and that which was delivered. I am also convinced that all which God has said is true in His word. There is also an assurance that in Christ I am forgiven and have been made right with God - being granted salvation. This great faith is not of myself but is of God alone, worked in my heart, by the blessed Holy Spirit.

To Be Continued ............... Steve

Outlined Approach For Reading This Blog Site

2006-03-01T21:40:00.000-05:00

Outlined Approach For Reading This Blog Site

.......

Due to continued contact regarding many people’s thankfulness for the practical and understandable biblical instruction on the blog site and in trying to keep it simple and easy to understand I have updated and constructed what seems good to me to be the best outline for following the blogs in systematic catagories. Therefore if you are new to the blog or are reading them through for the first time I do suggest reading them in the order as stated below. I will update this from time to time as more blogs are added. It has been updated as of 1/30 2006.

At the top of the page you can search the blog for each of the areas of Study (Over 112 different areas of study as of 3/01/06.

As previously stated it is not perfect in many ways (typing errors, limited site manipulators, etc.) but it is instructive without being in any way debative or argumentative. The best we can do as Christians is to write to instruct God’s people in a positive manner. Please continue to pray that all Christians will feel comfortable reading and learning at this site..Thanks for your continued support and for those that continue to plug this blogsite and use it for reference and support..

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I. God’s Gift of Grace Applied

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II. The Doctrine of Sola Scriptura

Sola Scriptura in Doctrine and Practice (Part 1)
Sola Scriptura And Orthopraxy (Part 2)
Sola Scriptura and Orthopraxy: Establishes "Philosophy of Ministry" (Part 3)
Sola Scriptura and Orthopraxy: In Doctrine, Church Polity, Worship, and More (Part 4)
Sola Scriptura and Orthopraxy: In Our Worship and Christian Living (Part 5)

.......
III. The Church, Communion and Day Of Worship

1. Identifying the Church
2. The Holy spirit and the Church
3. Leadership and Unity in the Kingdom of God
4. Bible Instruction Must Be Under The Authority of the Church
5. The Baptism Of Our Sinless Saviour
6. Baptismal Exhortation
7. Infant Baptism Does the Bible Teach It
8. The Sins of Rebaptism and Of Leaving One's Baby Unbaptized
9. True Communion
10. Glorifying God
11. The Lord’s Wonderful Day
12. Thinking Deacon
13. What Type Of Church Did The Apostles Attend
14. Are We Catholics?

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IV. Christian Witnessing

1. Called To Confess Christ In Word And As A Living Letter
2. Listening for Gospel Opportunities
3. Let's Evangelize
4. Creationism.

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V. God’s Guidance and the Tools of Faith

1. Guided … by God?
2. Tools of the Faith
3. Favorite Hymns
4. More Favorite Hymns
5. The Bible God’s Word To Us
6. Progressive Sanctification – Growing in Grace, Cooperation With God

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VI Practical Christian Living to Glorify God

1. One Anothering
2. What is Nouthetic Counseling – Jay Adams
3. Godliness through Discipline – Jay Adams
4. A Look At Commitment
5. Our Basic Duty – Forgive the Repentant
6. Overcoming Evil – Jay Adams
7. Worry: A Serious Life Issue That Leads To Atheistic and Lazy Process Which Must Be Broken
8. Biblical Principals of Work and the Biblical Work Ethic
9. Thoughts on Biblical Sexuality and in Overcoming Sexual Difficulty
10. AA Doctrines Compared with the Scriptures
11. Can We Use Eastern Language In Our Prayer And Devotional Life
12. Abomination – Often Used And Misunderstood
13. Perseverance Of The Saints
14. From Uselessness To Usefulness
15. From Unpardonable to Pardonable
16. The Need To Forgive God
17. Being Angry for the Purpose Of Problem Resolution
18. Proper Thinking At the Time of A Death and / Or At A Funeral

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VII. Miscellaneous.

1. A Request Humble Honored
2. Judy Rogers Music – Giving The Best To Your Children
3. Proverbs Themes

1. Patience
2. Discipline
3. Self Image
4. Wisdom
5. Accountability
6. Honesty
7. Instant Living and Its Down Fall
8. Friendship
9. Family (Father, Mother, Children)
10. The Simple
11 The Tongue
12. Laziness
13. Abomination

.Stay tuned for such themes as:..

1. Productivity
2. Conflict
3. Purity
4. Reputation
5. Wealth
6. Providence
7. Contentment
8. Laziness
9. Etc.

Thinking Deacon

2006-03-01T20:50:00.000-05:00

Scriptural Office of the Deacons

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I. The Deaconate: Definite Office Needed for Service and Benevolence.

A. The Need arose for servents or Deacons early in the church after the Ascension of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 6:1-7)

1. Special difficulty had a need to be attended to

a. Widows were being neglected in the daily needs of life.

b. The office of deacon sprang forth to take care of temporal needs in the household of faith.

c. The Apostles knew that it was only proper to take care of the needy discerned
that it was undesireable that they leave the ministery of the word (teaching / preaching / discipling) and go to serve tables. Their need was to pray minister the word.

d. Therefore they set the parameters for the appointment of men to take care of the physical needs of the people.

e. Therefore the N.T. office of deacon was formed.

And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

II. The Qualifications Given

A. The qualifications for the office of deaconz are laid out in general inthe Booke of the Acts of the Apostles as well as in Paul's writing to Timothy in the Pastorals.

1. “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of The Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.”

a. Honest report = There is to be no blemish to the integreity of the Deacon. The office calls for the man to have a great reputation. He must be honest, unselfish, have integreity, diligence, desirre to serve,etc. The office of deacon imitates the service shown and taught by the Saviour.

b. Full of the Holy Spirit= the presence of the holy Spirit in the life of a man qualified for a Deacon will manifest theself as his personality characterzied by the fruits of the Spirit (Gal.5). The Deacon will know the word in a practical life functioning way and minister to the needs of the people in the church directed by the Spirit inspired word of God

c. Full of wisdom= The deacons life will initate James 13,17. There is more than knowledge, more than understanding there is the attainment of understanding and the carrying forth of that word to help,guide and direct others.

B. There is a more detailed list of qualifications for the office of Deacon in 1Tim. 3:8-13. The primary focus on the qualifications of deacon rest on the issues of honesty and family and time of proving themselves qualified.

1. Honesty= to help handle others affairs there must be honesty.

2. Family= If you cannot take care of your own family service there is no doubt of the inability of your being able to care for the members of God’s kingdom.

3. Time= With all that the job function requires and with all the monetary obligations it is needful to take time and read men concerning character in proving them qualified as honest and having a proper biblical family.

1 Timothy 3:8-13 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

III. Deacons Under the Spiritual Direction of the Elders

A. The standards for the Deacons are very high but they are not as stringent as for the elders.

1. The elder must be able to teach and by sound doctrine exhort and convict those who contradict the faith.. (1Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:9). The elder is a ruling office.

Titus 1:9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

2. The deacon must “hold to the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.” The deacon is a office of service to the elders,people and the whole church. Their service is under direction of elders. The apostles functioned in the role of elders and therefore were able to give direction for the selection of the first deacons. (Cp. 1 Pt. 1:1;5:10)

1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

1 Peter 5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

IV. Brief list Concerning The Role of a Deacon' Function

A. Ministering to those that lack the physical means to take care of themselves.

B. Visitation duties

C. Handling church monies

1. budgeting

2. distrubiting to needy

3. paying for services rendered for the upkeep of the buildings,etc.

D. Give information and educating the congregration about needs

1. In the church (discreetly)

2. In the community

3. In the state

4. On mission fields

E. Ensuring Widows and Orphans are Cared for

F. ETC.

This list is not exhaustive but directional. There is no limit to how the deacons can serve and create a serving attitude in the people of God.

Christians - Maya Angelou

2006-03-01T05:57:00.000-05:00

Christians - By Maya Angelou

When I say.. "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say.. "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say.. "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say.. "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say.. "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches

So I call upon His name.

When I say.. "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner

Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Share this with somebody who already has this understanding, as reinforcement. But more importantly, share this with those who do not have a clear understanding of what it means to be a Christian, so that the myth that Christians think they are "perfect" or "better than others" can be dispelled.

May your day be filled with many blessings!!!

Are We Catholics

2006-02-28T09:36:00.000-05:00

Are We Catholics?

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My friends Ava has this in her blog http://pilgrimchristian.blogspot.com/ which is one of the best blogs in the blog world. It clearly explains the consistent historical work of the minister as well as stateing correctly that the modern church today have left the work od administration of the word and sacraments.

Some folks especially Landmark Baptist folks are liars and call themselves the only Church. A "Landmarker" Michael Ray has called all presbyterians liars, has stated that in his town of 100,000 there is but "ONE Church", he also recently called Phil Johnson and James White non-baptist. And he calls all others daughters of the Roman Catholic Church or friends of the daughters. Hatred and bitterness spew from him consistantly. On Feb. 2. I wrote a note to him http://christianthotsataglance.blogspot.com/2006/02/mike-what-is-happening-brother.html and I do hope that the Lord will call him to repent.

This post corrects them and evidences that we are not of the Church of Rome.

The following is a post of an open apology doe to another paragraph i wrote on this day and I so repent. To react can cause one to sin and that is what I did. So here is the open apology I gave on 3/3.06.

An Open Apology

It was not my intention to malign anyone. I did however have the perception that the group on Emergent No is in tight with the doctrine of Landmarkism. I do find Landmarkinism and anything close to it to hold to strange views. So I am concerned about it and anyone close to it. I say this due to the a continuation of shunning others that hold the doctrine of the universal church Carla you have stated that you do not hold that position and that is sufficient for me to apologize to you. Also Surphing and Nina I make apology to you as well. As to Phil and James White I have not desired to bring your name down in any manner. I really don’t know you guys but ask you accept the apology. Please accept my apology and pray that all branches of Christ’s Church be united. Steve

6:07 AM, March 03, 2006

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Are We Catholics?

Historic Protestantism is different from evangelicalism in its current incarnation. But is historic Protestantism really Catholicism without a Pope and a Mass?

by William Smith

This is a time in the history of the church when to speak the language of historic Protestantism is to sound suspiciously like a Roman Catholic I believe that, if you want to become, be, and continue as a Christian, you should go to church. The reason you should go to church is that Christ has given to the Church the means of grace - the Word (read and preached), the sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper), and prayer. These are the instruments the Spirit of God uses to convert, sanctify, and preserve. Because Christ has given these means to the Church, and to its ministers to administer, and since He works through these means for our salvation, we need the Church as much as a baby needs his mother for life and nourishment. This high view of the Church, of the ministry, of the Word and sacraments is historic Protestantism, but it sounds Catholic to many evangelicals today.

Evangelicals believe that one's relationship with God is a much more private, personal, and individual matter, and, therefore, much less related to the church, its ordinances, and its ministers. How did evangelicals come to think in this way? Several factors contribute.

One is the unintended consequences of the Reformation. In pointing out the errors of Roman Catholicism and attacking the corruptions of that system, the Reformers never intended to demean the Church as an institution or to weaken its spiritual authority. In teaching the priesthood of all believers, they never meant to undermine the role of ministers of the Word and sacraments. In getting rid of of the tyranny of the Pope, they never intended to replace it with the tyranny of the individual conscience. However, over the last 500 years, this is just what has happened.

Then there is pietism. Pietism had a healthy concern. That concern was that people not just go through the motions, depending on perfunctory participation in church attendance, sermon hearing, sacrament reception to make and keep one a Christian. Pietism was concerned with the heart. Hence pietism, in the interests of reality, emphasized 'closet religion.' There is nothing wrong with these concerns, but pietism led to elevation of one's private devotional exercises over one's participation in the ordinances of the church. What happened when you were 'alone with God,' not in church, became where the 'rubber meets the road' in religion. The motto might be, 'Go to church if you can, but by all means don't miss your quiet time.'

Revivalism is another contributor to evangelical diminishment of the importance of the church. What are revivals? They are times when God seems to do something extraordinary. Large numbers of unbelievers are awakened to their danger, disturbed, and converted (or at least seem to be); a large number of professing Christians discover that their religion has been merely "nominal" and become 'true' Christians; and a large number of believers are stirred from their spiritual slumber to a new seriousness and vitality. Both Arminians and Calvinists can believe in and seek revivals. The difference is that Arminians believe revivals can be worked up (human activity), while Calvinists believe they must be prayed down (divine intervention). There is no doubt that in history there have been revival events. Over time revivals tended to question reliance on the ordinary means of grace, to doubt the adequacy and genuineness of ordinary Christian experience, to move outside the ordinary church structures to form other organizations, and to diminish the role of ordinary ministers settled in churches in favor of revivalist preachers (who might be ordained or not since it doesn't make any difference).

Historic Protestantism is different from evangelicalism in its current incarnation. But is historic Protestantism really Catholicism without a Pope and a Mass? No. Historic Protestantism differs from Roman Catholicism in that it teaches that the ordinances of preaching and sacraments do not work automatically. They must be accompanied by the work of the Spirit, and the Spirit must work faith in the one who hears the Word or receives the sacraments. There is a freedom and mystery about the Spirit's work. Some who hear do not hear Christ speaking in the preached Word; some who are baptized are not united to Christ; some who take the Lord's Supper are not nourished with the sacrificed body and poured out blood of the Savior. At this critical point (and many others) historic Protestantism separates itself from Roman Catholicism. But historic Protestantism sounds strange to evangelical ears because it believes the means of grace are just that - means whereby, with the blessing of the Holy Spirit, God's grace enters our lives. Hence historic Protestantism says, 'Go to church, because the Church has the means of grace. Use the means, for God has established a bond between the means and the regenerating, converting, sanctifying, preserving work of the Spirit.'

But does the Bible teach what historic Protestantism teaches about the means? Paul tell us in Romans 10:13 that "Œeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" Then his logic becomes relentless: "But how will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?So faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of Christ" (10: 14-15a, 17). How do people come to faith? It is through hearing the word of Christ in preaching.

The Great Commission is a 'Word and sacrament' commission: 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you' (Matthew 28:19, 20a). The command is to 'make disciples of all the nations.' To do that, we must 'go.' But when we go for the purpose of making disciples, how do we go about making them? We baptize them and we teach them. Jesus' method is an 'ordinary means of grace' method.

What the Church and we Christians need is a confidence in and reliance upon the means of grace. The Church fulfills its mission by faithful administration of the means. Christians become Christians, grow as Christians, and remain Christians by the faithful use of the means of grace. It's not Catholic. It's historic Protestantism, and it's Biblical.

WILLIAM H. SMITH

What Type Of Church Did The Apostles Attend?

2006-02-27T07:59:00.000-05:00

What Type OF Church Did The Apostles Attend?

Elders and the People of God

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Recently the question was asked aqbout which Church the Apostles would have attended. I answered that they would have attended a Presbyterian Church. Now they went into the synagogues first (Apostle Paul). The Church in its formality is patterend after the synagogue. So really i should have explained that. But then in reality the Church attended would have been presbyterial since the leadership would have been by a number of elders. That is what a Presbyterian Church is ----- simply a Church ruled in the biblical directive with multiply elders. In this blog you will see this established and will learn and grow in the way God established for His Church to be led. .......Enjoy / Steve

While much could be said about the church and the kingdom, believers and their roles and responsibilities as members, and the sufficiency of the word of God, This writing is wanting to look at the rule in the Church through elders also called pastor / teachers, and presbyters. In a Kingdom a king has officers under him with the charge to execute the laws of the kingdom with justice and in honor. In the kingdom of Christ the office bearers chosen to rule are the elders and the people of God are to yield submission and obedience. This is the direction given in the Bible for we are told to " Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account." (Heb. 13:17)

A. . The People Of God Have Been Ruled By Elders Throughout History

a) Old Testament

God's people have been ruled by elders throughout most all of history. When reading the Old Testament you find that the leadership of the elders being Gods designated and delegated leaders was established at the time of Moses. That leadership continues throughout the rest of history.

1) Moses

Exo 3:16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,

Exo 24:1 Then he said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.

Lev 4:15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be killed before the LORD.

Num 11:16 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.

Deu 21:19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives,

2) The Times of the Judges

Jdg 8:14 And he captured a young man of Succoth and questioned him. And he wrote down for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men.

1Sa 6:4 And they said, "What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.

3) The Time of The Kings

2Ki 19:2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz.

4) The Time of The Captivity

Eze 8:1 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there.

Eze 14:1 Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.

Eze 20:1-2 In the seventh year, in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me. And the word of the LORD came to me:

5) The Time After The Capitivity During the Rebuilding

Ezr 5:5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it.

Ezr 5:9 Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus, 'Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?

Ezr 6:7-8 & 14 Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River...... And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia;

b) New Testament

A reading of the New Testament indicates that those who were to lead God's people have never changed. Elders were in rule during Christ's earthly ministry as well as being called for in the expanding Church as is called for in the New Testament Scriptures.

1) References to the Rule of Elders At The Time Of Christ's Advent

Reading about the elders at the time of Christ sheds an interesting light. There was the rule by corrupt elders. However, even in their corruption God does not do away with the leading of his people through the office elders. God's people being ruled by elders have never changed since they were first called at the time of Moses.

1) In The Gospels

Mat 15:2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."

Mar 7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders,

Mat 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Mat 21:23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"

Mat 26:47 While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people.

Mat 26:57 Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.

Mat 27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

2) Acts and The Pastorals

Act 14:23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Tit 1:5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you--

B. Qualifications for the Office the Same in the Old and New Testaments

The elders in both the Old and New Testaments had to meet qualifications. In both Testaments the qualifications are basically the same and focus upon key areas of religious life:

1. Moral behavior2. Knowledge of doctrine3. Family and personal life4. Developmental time for wisdom in life

The Old Testament passages summarizing the qualifications for elders are: Dt. 1:13; Ex. 18:21.

These passages call for the leaders to be wise and have understanding (Dt. 1:13; Ex. 18:21). The Apostle Paul sets the basic qualifications for the elders in the expanding Church of the New Testament expounding on the qualifications helping Christians in the Roman world know how the church was to function (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus

Leadership is important whether it is in business, the government of a country or in leading the people of God in the "household of faith". As a society we look for men of character and integrity for leadership. We have difficulty in giving honor to men of questionable character. If you think this is important in civil government then it is even more important in the Church. Therefore, in the Kingdom of God there must be men ordained with knowledge, wisdom and godly character according to the Biblical standards of leadership. This necessity is clear since the "sheep" must be led into "green pastures" and to "calm waters". The leadership call is to lead the sheep and that can only be done as the elders fulfill the "musts" of character qualities stated in the Bible.

a. Old Testament Basic Elder Qualifications

Deu 1:13 Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.

Exo 18:21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

b. New Testament Basic Elder Qualifications

1 Tim. 3:1-7 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

Tit 1:5-9 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you-- if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

C. The People Of God Ruled By Plurality Of Elders Throughout HistoryChurch leadership is delegated to a plurality or group of men having certain spiritual and character qualifications (Deut. 1:13; Ex. 18:21;1 Tim 1:3-7) working together (Num. 11:16; Ex 3:16; Acts 14:23; Tit. 1:5) to lead God's people in doctrine, worship, holiness and service. The elders are men, under God, ruling together in handling issues and making decisions based on the commands, principals, and precepts of the scripture. Here are the supporting passages:Num 11:16 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.
Exo 3:16 Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, "I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,
Act 14:23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Tit 1:5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you--
D. Elders Lead In Plurality And By the Word of God
Elders lead not by relying on their own thinking, nor by the persuasion of the people or by pragmatic decision making but by leading together in unity ruling according to the principles, precepts and processes of the Word of God. The elders are representatives of Christ, they must rule according to His kingdom rule and law - the Bible and that for the good of the subjects of the kingdom- Christians.

The benefits of multiple elders in a church leading has many benefits. A couple of them are included here. The first is a diffusion of power. No one person has the power in their hand. Also any bad decisions made by just one man is ended. The plurality of elders takes away weaknesses which happen when one person makes binding decisions upon the church. As we all see so often one man shows often lead to tyranny. The plurality of elders creates a means of "checks and balances". Each elder must study the Bible and to bring it to bear upon the issues that come before the court. They then come together for discussion and to formulate the Bible teaching. They also work together to seek needed practical application of the Bible concerning the doctrine now formulated. With multiple elders abuses of authority that could happen are held in check since all elders are involved in study, decision making, doctrinal formulation and suggested application.

A second benefit is simply that the great tasks of the church related to ruling and guiding the people of God is handled in an easy manner. The many elders with each others gifts, strengths and abilities working in a combined effort makes the job easier and less stressful. Therefore, they are able to lead God's people in a more responsive manner according to the word of God.
Having stated a couple benefits I now want to look at a couple weaknesses that comes from non-biblical leadership in the church. Many Churches, perhaps yours, have just one elder or pastor. Perhaps he makes the decisions or he may defer to the congregation for discussion and a vote. In this type of non-biblical leadership all lead or one leads and both brings their own set of problems.

In the best case the one pastor would be a smart man and take the whole burden of the church upon himself or perhaps he moves the deacons to act as elders and not as deacons or as some combination as elder/deacon. Or perhaps the congregation knows all the Bible and how to apply it in all areas, even the most difficulties of life. But this cannot be the case since the congregation needs led and are at different places in their growth in knowledge and faith.

But wisdom and observation teaches that most men cannot handle that burden of the whole church Even if the pastor does move the deacons in a role elders should do, then the burden of the deacons becomes greater. As far as the congregation voting many are not capable of applying the scriptures in their own lives let alone making decisions and voting on the most difficult church related and member issues. Not all study theology let alone practical theology. These types of "church leadership" are just not biblical. Many churches struggle with major problems due to these types of non-biblical leadership in their church. Thankfully some over the years have moved to put elders in place after seeing the difficulty and the truth of scriptures in eldership rule.

Being Angry For Problem Resolution

2006-02-26T02:57:00.000-05:00

Being Angry For Problem Resolution

There have been times my anger was good and properly handled and I used it to God’s glory. But I cannot begin to count how many times in my life I have handled anger sinfully. Each time I had to repent and do the works of repentance and handle it correctly. I spent a lot of time years ago seeking out godly men for biblical discipleship and counsel since I did not understanding anger and how to handle it in a godly and therefore biblical manner. God’s word does give the answer on handling anger in a righteous manner. Here are the biblical principles and directives so that we may learn to handle anger properly to and for the glory of God.

Anger is an emotion given to us by God that produces energy so that we can do that which is needed to carry out whatever needs to be done for God’s glory. Simply stated anger is God given energy to help solve problems biblically. When the energies produced are used within the righteous manner of living, to solve problems biblically, as set within the scripture it is then righteous anger. It is proper and we must at times “be angry and sin not” as the Bible commands us. Biblical examples of men using anger to solve problems biblically are when the Apostle Paul withstood Peter face to face (Gal 2:11) and when Nathan rebuked David (2 Sam. 2:7). We then see God that God demonstrate righteous anger as part of His character (1 Kings 11:9; Ps. 7:11; Mk 3:5). We see the righteous anger of God at work when Christ drove the money changers out of the temple! Here is an example of how I would use anger righteously to solve a problem. If someone hurt one of my kids I would go to the civil magistrates, take out a warrant for the persons arrest and then seek every avenue I could to see that the person be judged to the fullest extent of the law. Notice that we are commanded and called to "be angry, but do not sin". I suggest that at the end of your reading this that you start thinking through some ways that you will use the anger God gives you to take care of problems that may have risen or may rise in your life so that you may glorify Him in the day of trouble. Remember ”Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” (Eph 4:26-27)

The power and energy that anger produces, when used wrongly makes anger sinful. Anger becomes sinful when a person is “mad”. Anger becomes sinful when you become mad. By the way to be mad is the same as one that speaks and acts in such a manner that he or she seems not to be in their right mind (jn 10:20;Acts 12:15; 26:25; 1 Cor 14:23) There is no command to ever be mad in the Bible, but there is the command to speak and act with a sense of purpose being kind and gracious. Anger also becomes sinful when one becomes selfishly motivated. Anger is sinful when one whines and cries wanting their way. These folks may not whine like a baby in the sense of a high pitched frequency but they sure do whine like an adult and typically their cry is a stern “I have the right to __________.” The Bible is clear in this “Whether therefore ye eat. Or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” So when it comes to wanting your own way the idol of the heart that must be destroyed is clearly seen. Thenj you have the folks that do not seek to solve problem in a timely manner. And in many cases they do not want to confront what has made them angry. Some keep lists and one day.a big day will come and the bad Santa’s list of wrongs will be revealed. Oh my, a fifty page list od all you have done to me. This can arrange from “not fixing breakfast on my birthday in 1977” to “ putting a scratch on the car in 1996 in the month of July three days before going on the trip to Dan’s Grit House for lunch.” “ Remember?” When you attack a person in anger instead of problem solving you have not handled anger correctly and sin occurs. Period.

Now the Bible is clear that wise and godly men and women can and do control their anger. (Prov. 19:11; 29:11; Eph 4:26, 27) You don’t need to yell at the wife, smack the kids, kick the chair, beat the ___________ (fill in the blank). Your children are to be nurtured, the wife loved without bitterness toward them, etc. “Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.” And, “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.” And as for getting angry at work with your employer and “showing them” by speaking out (yelling) against them or by not working properly I ask that you remember that the Apostle taught us to “obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.” (Col 3:18-22)

I remember one day a lady friend of the family was visiting at our home when she stated to my wife and I that when she was “PMSing” she sure gave her “husband a difficult time”. During this time she felt badly and would fuss and get angry often. She said that he knew to watch out and leave her alone during this time. So I asked, “Do you treat everyone in this same manner as you do your husband during these days.” She said, “No.” I then asked if she treated the person at the check out line at the grocery store in that manner? Again her answer was, “No”. I then shared that her anger and difficulty toward her husband, even while PMSing, was not acceptable before the Lord and shared that the Lord desired her to love her husband and that she was to put off the fussing and anger during these PMS days. It was discussed and recognized that the body did go through changes that caused discomfort during this time however that was no excuse to treat the husband in such a sinful manner. It also was pointed out to her that she clearly showed that she could control any outbursts of anger during this PMS time and that she did so with the people at the store and with other people. Wise men and women therefore “put off” the “old self” and “put on” a renewed mind so as not to “grieve the Holy Spirit of God”, by being kind and tenderhearted. You see “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” (Pro 29:11) and “The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.” (Pro 19:11)

Anger can be handled in one of three ways: 1) by blowing up; 2) By clamming up; 3) biblically. The first two are sinful ways of handling or reacting to anger. We are directed not to handle anger in that manner. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Eph 4:31-32)

We will now briefly look at each one of these so that we can learn how to handle anger righteously to the glory of God, for our growth in grace and knowledge, and for our continual growth in progressive sanctification.

Some people handle anger by blowing up. They fail in not controlling the energy which anger produces. Blowing up in anger is the release of the energy God has given to solve a problem toward people and other things instead of releasing it to solve whatever the problem itself is. This person yells, screams, hit, beat and break people and things. It is easy to see that venting anger is sinful and not to be considered as an option for the believer. When anger is handled in this manner people get hurt in several different ways. One way that others get hurt by those handling anger in this sinful manner is in the beatings they and others receive. Another way people get hurt is in the yelling and name calling and sinful communication that goes on by the person that is out of control. It is a shame that this otherwise productive God given energy is used for such evil purposes.

Other people handle anger by clamming up. That is they seethe in whatever is bothering them. These folks become resentful and bitter and live as victims of circumstances. Anger is to be controlled but it is not to be held in and problems go unsolved. The Bible calls God’s people to attention so as to “not let the sun go down on your anger" (Ephesians 4:26).

Clamming up does a lot of damage to the person that is angry. The energy produced by anger has no outlet for the person holds it all in. In clamming up the energies released that should go toward problem solving are released toward you. This is dangerous since clamming up can cause major health issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, high blood pressure, heart attacks, “mental disorders”, and many other things. Not only do you damage to yourselves but, you also hurt others. For example others get hurt not only where the truth is not spoken in love but also in the loss of a loved one that has clammed up and the health problems produced form it causes death.

Other people handle anger in a Biblical manner. You may not have known that the Bible has the answer on how to handle anger, but it does. And people that know this handle anger differently from those that vent and blow up and those that clam up. Joseph is an excellent example of the many principles and steps one must take in handling anger biblically. Notice that he sees God in the trial and in the solution (Rom 8:29,29) As Joseph stated “you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good.” He made room for God’s wrath against evil and he returned good for what was evil. “And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto them. (Gen 50:19-21; Rom 12:19)

Doesn’t Joseph’s godly example and practice remind you of the directives given to us in Romans chapter 12 which states: “Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Rom 12:17-21)

So let’s now summarize how to handle anger biblically!

1. If you have sinned recognize, admit and confess the sin to God and to the proper people you have sinned against (Prov 28:13) If you struggle with anger get help from your pastor or a spiritual brother or sister to help disciple you and hold you accountable to handle anger biblically.

2. See that God is in the trial. After all He has decreed all things that come to pass and all things come not by chance but by His fatherly hand. (Gen 50:20; Rom. 8:28. 29; James 1:2-4)

3. Make room for God’s wrath. Okay! In other words do not try to be or play God and sin. Remember Joseph and Romans 12:19.

4. Return good for what you think is evil. Overcome evil with good. Do not let evil overtake you. Gen 50:21; Rom 12:21)

5. Communicate to solve the problem. Biblical communication pleasing to God has four rules.

a.) Be Honest - Eph 4:25;
b.) Keep Current - Eph. 4: 26-27 ;
c.) Attack The Problem Not The Person – Eph. 4:29;
d.) Act, Don’t React – Eph 4:31-32

6. Act in such a manner to solve the problem by being God’s kind of person. In other words, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. (Rom 12:18)

In conclusion let me say that if you are a child of God you can change by realizing god’s purpose for anger is to solve problems. It is not to hurt and destroy oneself or others. As a Child of God we have the indwelling Holy Spirit and can be Christ like in our handling of anger. In reading this blog you have no excuse at all now for handling anger sinfully and for not growing in this area of your life. Memorize the steps listed and if you need particular help seek out a godly pastor or elder and get the help needed. You can handle anger biblically. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you apply these directives in your life. Go then and sin no more. Okay!

Perhaps you are not a Christian. If not then the first thing you must do is to take a hard focused look at your life. Is anger a problem, perhaps it is and it will probably be linked with other sins. Recognize that you need delivered from the guilt of the sins which brings the punishment of hell. If you recognize this then let the God of Peace know that you acknowledge your sins ant that you now trust Christ as your deliverer and Savior! Then you need to look for a bible believing Church. I suggest the Presbyterian Church in America. Look in your local phone book for the nearest one to you and contact the pastor and attend there, If ther happens not to be one there and you cannot find a local Baptist bible believing church feel free to contact me giving information where I may contact and assist you.

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Being Angry For Problem Resolution