The Bible – Page 10 – Growing 4 Life

The Love and Compassion that Swallows Fear

4 Comments / June 7, 2018 June 7, 2018

I heard someone ask Ray Comfort the other day if he stills gets scared when he witnesses to people. If you don’t know who Ray Comfort is, you will find him at Living Waters teaching people how to share the Gospel and doing a lot of that himself. After all these years you would think he’d be super comfortable sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others, but he actually said he is still terrified. And then he said he has learned how to hold that terror and gave a little analogy that I wanted to share here–

If you had a pool filled with floating ice cubes and the coldest water you could imagine, you wouldn’t think about jumping in. But if a three year old fell in that pool, you wouldn’t think about it for a second. You’d just jump in and save him. There is a love and compassion that swallows fear.

That is true love, isn’t it? The kind that swallows fear?

And this isn’t just relevant to witnessing. It’s relevant to being a godly parent, being a godly leader, and encouraging Christians away from false teaching. These all take a love that will swallow that consuming fear that comes when we think about any confrontation.

What kind of fears do we fight?

There are so many but they all have one thing in common–

fear that people won’t like me

fear people will think I’m weird

fear that people will think I’m a fanatic

fear that people will think I’m divisive

fear that my comfortable circumstances will change

fear that someone won’t be my friend anymore

fear that people will be mean to me

fear that people will gang up on me

Do you see the main thing listed in these fears? Me and I. I am sure there are so many more fears but can you think of one fear you have in regards to telling others the truth about the Bible that isn’t wrapped up in you?

So this is a natural thing, isn’t it? We naturally want to live pleasant, happy, carefree lives. Of course, we don’t want to rock any boats or upset anyone because that means we have to deal with the unpleasant consequences that follow. The easiest thing to do is to just stay quiet. And so we don’t tell unbelievers about Jesus Christ–or if we do, we conveniently leave out the part about them being a sinner and needing to repent. All of that unpleasant stuff that no one wants to hear. And we don’t love our Christian brothers and sisters enough to call out sin or to mention that the author or the preacher they love so much is a false teacher.

Because our fear is bigger than our love.

You’d think–with my blog and all–that I wouldn’t struggle with this, right? I mean, let’s face it, when you do this kind of blogging there isn’t really any question of where I stand. But I still struggle with this. Somehow talking with someone one-on-one seems a lot more frightening than writing a blog post. I would imagine most bloggers and writers feel that way. In fact, you may feel that way even with social media, feeling much freer to share there (although that’s probably worth a blog post in and of itself–social media is not the place for these conversations, as a rule. If we wouldn’t say it to someone in person, we shouldn’t write it on a Facebook wall or tweet it).

Now, I must add one thing and this seems to be the perfect place to add it. “Jumping in that pool” to save someone is always the right thing to do. And because we do not know when someone is going to die, there is an urgency to witnessing that we cannot deny. However, while this isn’t really the topic of this post, I do think we need to remember to be wise. If we broach the subject of salvation or of a false teacher or of their own sin with someone and they grow angry and defensive, then we must know when to back away. We are not bulls in a china closet. We don’t just keep going, ramming Bible verses down their throats. There is a grace and love that must accompany speaking the truth.

But most of us never even get to the point where we are willing to speak the truth. To anyone. About anything. Because of that terrifying fear. But we have the power to overcome that fear. I John 4 tells us that God’s perfect love casts out that fear–

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I think we must ask this question: At what point does our fear become a sin? At what point does it move from being a natural human response to an actual sin? Anger and envy are natural human responses but we don’t give them the same pass as fear, do we? Why is that?

Of course, this is compounded greatly by the fact that we are literally becoming the great enemy of the western world more and more each day. The agenda to demonize biblical Christians is vigorous and influential and so this intensifies our fears. And there is much to fear these days. The days of freely sharing biblical truth are slipping away into the twilight.

But there is a love and compassion that swallows our fear! And if we are born again, we have access to it. Right now. Today. Why are we allowing ourselves to be controlled by fear when we should be controlled by love?

Is the Lord Still Speaking?

21 Comments / June 4, 2018 June 4, 2018

I have been meaning to write this post for a while now. I have also been dreading it. I know that most of you–my readers–are going to disagree with this post (I even disagreed with it myself a few years ago!) However, I also recognize that this is probably the area that Christians are most vulnerable in this age that is driven by mysticism (experience=truth) and clouded by pragmatism (if it works, it must be true).

I also want to say right up front that if you don’t agree with me, I hope that you will stick around and that we can still be friends. I am not demanding that you believe as I do, but, instead, just ask you to open your mind as I simply share why I believe that the scripture teaches this. I ask you to do some digging of your own into the Word rather than just imbibing the messages of fallible authors, pastors, and teachers or listening to the experiences of friends.

A few months ago, I had a conversation with someone. We were talking about whether or not God still speaks to individuals today. The woman adamantly assured me that special revelation most certainly does continue. When pressed, however, for scripture to back up her viewpoint, she couldn’t give any.

Honestly, that used to be me. Until a good friend started talking with me about this and opened my eyes to the ramifications of this belief. If this is true, then the words God speaks to us must, by their very nature, be as authoritative as the words of the Bible. Wow. That is a Pandora’s box that we will never close once the lid is cracked (and this is exactly what is going on today). This same friend also handed me a book that not only changed my mind but also deepened my conviction called “Is That You, Lord: Hearing the Voice of the Lord, a Biblical Perspective” by Gary Gilley. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Almost always, the Old Testament or the book of Acts is the go-to for those who do use scripture to back up their case for special revelation. But there are a few problems with this. First, the Old Testament was under a totally different covenant and during the time when the Holy Spirit was not indwelling believers, so we can expect God’s communication with men to be very different than under the New Testament covenant. Regarding the book of Acts, we can see that if we carefully study the New Testament as a whole that Acts is a transitional book that had many unusual and supernatural occurrences as God built the early church. If you would like to know more about this, I encourage you to read Pastor Dean’s short essay on this very thing, which you can find here.

I thought I’d share with you some other reasons that I have arrived at the conclusion that the sign gifts and special revelation are not applicable to us today.

First, we cannot possibly know if we are hearing from God or Satan (or a demon). 2 Corinthians 11:14 makes it clear that Satan comes as an angel of light. This means he pretends to be something he is not in order to deceive. So let’s say you hear a voice say something to you. Even if it is a good thing—perhaps to help a neighbor—how can you possibly know it came from God? How can you know with absolute certainty? You see, Satan could feasibly pretend to be good—perhaps even for many years—until you trust that voice and listen to that voice. And then he will suddenly start to steer you off the narrow path. He is like a lion who wants to devour us and he is a deceiver. We dare not underestimate him when it comes to hearing a voice in our head.

Second, as we study the gifts we can see that the sign gifts as described in the Bible are absolutely nothing like the sign gifts of this modern age. Two really obvious examples are tongues and healing. First, tongues in the Bible (see Acts 2) were actual languages that were used to tell foreigners of the Savior. They were always used to bring glory to God and never to self and they were always to be interpreted (See I Corinthians 14). This is in complete opposition to the gibberish of today, which is rarely (if ever?) interpreted and looks much more similar to the demonic sects of Hinduism and other false religions. The similarities are truly shocking! As for healing—Acts 5 shows that even Peter’s shadow healed people who were obviously sick and dying. Today, modern apostles who claim to heal never heal radically. It’s always something you can’t see such as headaches or lengthening a leg. Never radical healing where someone with spina bifida can walk instantly or someone in hospice is radically healed in the blink of an eye. That is because the time for that is over. NOW, can God heal? Yes, yes, yes! He can and He does. Being a cessationist doesn’t mean you don’t believe in miracles. God works in marvelous ways and I have been privileged to see that on occasion. I just don’t believe He gifts prophets to do that healing in this day and age and I don’t live for miracles. Perhaps that is the biggest difference between a cessationist (someone who believes the sign gifts have ended) and most continuationists (someone who believes the sign gifts continue): Cessasionists appreciate miracles and we praise God for them, but they are not what make up the excitement or substance of our Christian lives.

Third, God put Himself in a box. Inevitably, the argument is always that we can’t put God in a box, but I want to assure you that God did that Himself. When we read His word, we see a couple of things that stand out. First, I Timothy 3:16 says this—

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Do you see verse 17 says that scripture will make us complete and thoroughly equipped? We don’t need any other word from God or special experience to equip us for the Christian life.

And Jude 3 says this—

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Do you see the words “once for all”? This means that we shouldn’t expect any more revelation from God. As I already mentioned above, if God is speaking to us today those words must hold the same weight as the Word of God. No revelation from God can be more important than another one. And this causes us a major problem–especially because so many who claim to hear from God speak things in complete opposition to the Bible. In fact, did you know that almost all false religions started with a vision or “special message” from God? Do a little research and you will see. It is a sobering reminder of just how deceptive and crafty Satan really is.

Fourth, experience is the opposite of faith. The accusation I hear frequently is this: If we don’t believe in the sign gifts and special revelation, we are lacking in faith. But I would beg to differ. I believe that those who must rely on special experiences are actually the ones lacking in faith. We read this in Hebrews 11:1–

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith means we haven’t seen or felt or heard it physically but are trusting God and His Word that what He says will come to pass. We must have faith to believe that He has saved us through grace alone in Christ alone. True faith means that we don’t need any special messages or visions to confirm this.

Fifth, God’s special revelations in the New Testament always had to do with growing the Church and sharing the Gospel. They were rarely (if ever?? I’ve not done a thorough study) about someone’s personal dreams or desires or health or wealth. For example, in Acts we see several places where Peter and Paul experienced the supernatural, but it was always to point people to God and the Gospel. It always had to do with furthering God’s Kingdom and had nothing to do with their own selfish motivations and desires. This is a rather significant contrast to most special revelations claimed today.

Sixth, we must do a careful evaluation of the fruit that has resulted from the movement that promotes and endorses these things. I have not seen churches grow stronger or sounder or more biblical as a result of practicing the “spiritual gifts” but instead we see, as a general rule, movement away from the sufficiency of scripture and sound doctrine, while moving towards mystical, experience-based religion that has no absolutes. Individually, most end up in a self-absorbed, mystical religion that is always hungering for the next experience, which inevitably takes their focus off of studying, submitting to, and obeying the Bible.

And seventh, and most importantly, is that the emphasis on special revelation always takes the emphasis off of the Word and places it on to personal experience. Interestingly enough, we know from a study of the book of Revelation that in the last days there will be a one world religion. This religion will draw all men together into the final false religion of the antichrist. If we take an honest look at the fruit of the charismatic and NAR movements, we can see that they are drawing men away from the Word and making them reliant on mystical experiences. This is exactly what Satan wants. You can’t rely on experience and on the Word. They are mutually exclusive. So we can see that this movement is drawing men away from true Christianity into this mystical one-world religion that is coming.

So these are some of my reasons.

BUT what about…

I know you are asking it, so let’s just go there. What about the time that I felt like I just needed to pray for someone and found out later that they needed prayer at just that time? Or the time that I could “hear” the Lord say “give so-and-so some groceries” and I find out later that they desperately needed those groceries?

Phil Johnson has written a great post on this, which you can find here. But I want to share this quote from it that, to me, wraps it all up rather nicely–

I am convinced by all the clear commands and best examples of Scripture that God would have us seek understanding and guidance by looking into the more sure Word of Scripture, rather than listening to the declarations of uncredentialed modern “prophets” who frankly admit that they often mistake their own imaginations for revelation from God.

What does this have to do with providence? Glad you asked. I’m willing to acknowledge that God has sometimes employed my intuitive hunches, spontaneous notions, subliminal logic, unconscious thoughts, or whatever, to order my steps providentially.

I emphatically deny that this is a form of prophecy or revelation, because it is notoriously fallible. And following your sense of intuition will get you in trouble at least as often as it works out well. To regard one’s intuition as a gift of prophecy or claim it as a kind of special revelation is really no better than what pagan fortune-tellers and occult clairvoyants do.

Now this is something to think about, isn’t it? Are your hunches and intuitions and impressions and thoughts of action always right on? Mine are certainly not. And that is how we know that God can use them but they aren’t prophecies or special revelation. I encourage you to read Phil’s entire post if you would like to understand this subject better.

Now, after all of this, I recognize that many (probably most) of you will not agree with me on this. I share this post to just encourage you to not come to your conclusion lightly as you ponder this subject. I did this myself and I believe that I came to the wrong conclusion. If not for my friend, I would still be at that same place–strongly holding an opinion that I don’t believe, after studying the scriptures, was the right one.

I want to reiterate that I do not share this to cause division and I still warmly consider you as part of my Christian family, even if we disagree on this area. This is one of those secondary issues that seems fuzzier than it should. It’s one of those things I’d like to ask God about when I get to heaven. Sooooo why didn’t you make it clearer, God? My suspicion is that if it was clear the mainstream church (as opposed to the remnant of the true Church) would never be drawn into the one world religion predicted in the last days, but time shall tell.

Well, I hope this post has been an encouragement to those who agree with me, and that it has caused those of you on the fence to really think about what you believe, and that it will drive those of you who disagree with me into the Word to disprove what I have written.

I’ve said this before but I’ll repeat it: My opinion on this doesn’t matter. At all. Don’t rely on me. Go to the Word. We must get our opinions on biblical matters from the Bible. Personally, I believe this is what the Word teaches after extensive study. I simply suggest that you, too, only make a firm opinion about this after doing your own study of the issue with a humble and submissive heart.

It’s Not Just a Book!

Leave a Comment / May 17, 2018 May 17, 2018

This probably isn’t going to be the most popular post I’ve ever written but it may be one of the most important. It won’t be the most popular–not because it is controversial or has a message people hate–but because this is something so many just don’t really care about. It’s rarely taught anymore and that’s probably because it’s something that doesn’t meet “felt needs” or provide any specific application.

But, oh, it is so critical we understand this as believers so that we can protect ourselves from the very real danger of false doctrine and from that self-centered religion that calls itself by the name of Christianity but looks nothing like it.

What is this, you may ask?

Well, it’s about the Bible. Understanding just what it is and being dedicated to interpreting it correctly. In other words: dividing it rightly. Officially it’s called Hermeneutics.

Hermeneutics is a big word, but it simply means this (according to dictionary.com): the science of interpretation, especially of the Scriptures.

I was listening to a powerful sermon yesterday entitled “Cutting it Straighter” by Dr. Abner Chou. He is a professor at the Masters University, so it was more like a lecture and there was a lot to take in because he talks pretty fast. But I was absolutely struck with just how important it is that we approach the scriptures with the right hermeneutics. Improper hermeneutics is the path to all false teaching.

Dr. Chou encouraged his listeners to first have a hermeneutic of surrender. We must be willing to bow our knee to what the scripture says. He went on to say how important it is that we know what the author intended to say.

Not what we want it to say. Not what it seems to say at first glance. Not some lesson we like that we can squeeze out of a particular passage. But what the author intended to say.

Have you ever thought of that before? This sermon was for pastors who are weekly expositing the Word before their congregations, but it is helpful for any of us who are in the Word on a regular basis.

For, you see, reading the Bible is only half of the equation. How we approach what we read is equally important.

Have you ever heard someone say that they read their Bible every day and yet they have no fruit to show for it? This is because they do not have a hermeneutic of surrender.

So just what is the Bible? Why does it matter? I thought it might be a good idea to just give an overview of this marvelous book to increase our awe of it and its contents. To give us the bigger picture of God’s plan. This will help us to remember that the Bible isn’t just about us in this minuscule bit of time and space. It will help us to understand that there is great value to all verses of the Bible–not just the ones that comfort and encourage us. And it will remind us of the Author, Who, behind the scenes, has woven all of scripture together and then preserved it so perfectly, that it can only be described as miraculous.

There are 66 books in the Bible. They were written over a period of 15 centuries by over 40 different authors. It is broken down into the Old Testament, which has 39 books and the New Testament, which has 27 books.

The Old Testament focuses on the history of Israel and the promise of the coming Savior.

The New Testament focuses on the person of Christ and the establishment of the Church.

The Old Testament is broken down into five categories–

1. The Law (5 books: Genesis – Deuteronomy)

2. History (12 books: Joshua – Esther)

3. Wisdom (5 books: Job – Song of Solomon)

4. Major Prophets (5 books: Isaiah – Daniel)

5. Minor Prophets (12 books: Hosea – Malachi)

There were then 400 years of silence that was broken by the arrival of John the Baptist announcing that the promised Savior had come.

The New Testament is broken down in this way–

1. The four Gospels record the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Of special note: Matthew looks at Christ through the perspective of His Kingdom; Mark through the perspective of His servanthood; Luke through the perspective of His humanness; and John through the perspective of His deity.

2. Acts records the impact of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which results in the establishment of the Church.

3. The 21 epistles are written to churches and individuals to explain the significance of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

4. Revelation which starts by recording the current church age and culminates with Christ’s return to establish His earthly kingdom.

Every portion of scripture–whether Old or New Testament– relates to one of these dominant themes–

1. The character and attributes of God.

2. The tragedy of sin and disobedience to God’s holy standard.

3. The blessedness of faith and obedience to God’s standard.

4. The need for a Savior by whose righteousness and substitution sinners can be forgiven, declared just, and transformed.

5. The coming glorious end of redemptive history in the Lord Savior’s earthly kingdom and the subsequent eternal reign and glory of God and Christ.

(The above is from Biblical Doctrine , pages 42-47, by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue)

Answers in Genesis also provides a framework through which we can understand the overall themes of scripture. As Ken Ham and Stacia McKeever put it here in this article: Most people look at the Bible as a book that contains many interesting stories and theological teaching. While this is true, the Bible is so much more—it’s a history book that reveals the major events of history that are foundational to the Bible’s important messages.

They have come up with these 7 C’s that will help us to remember the Bible’s overall theme and message–

1. Creation (In the beginning…)

2. Corruption (Adam and Eve and original sin)

3. Catastrophe (The Great Flood)

4. Confusion (Tower of Babel)

5. Christ (The Coming of Jesus Christ to earth the first time)

6. Cross (Jesus’s death on the cross and sacrifice for sin brings hope to all)

7. Consummation (The second coming and final reign of Jesus Christ!)

Okay, so that is a lot of information. And even this is just touching the surface, quite honestly. So what is my purpose in giving it to you? I want you to see that the Bible is not just some book that is full of unrelated verses. It is not just a book that we should let lie around gathering dust while we read the fodder of modern man and their take on the Bible. No!

It is a book that we should pick up daily with reverence and awe. It is something that should be studied with diligence and a desire to know and understand the bigger picture. And it is something that should be approached with humility and surrender and a willingness to obey. It is critical for us to interpret in context and to be dedicated to using sound, biblical resources as we seek to understand what the Word says. We must use the proper hermeneutic and take care to divide it rightly. Because…

It’s not just a book!

What Does the Bible Say About… (Our Response to False Teachers)?

5 Comments / May 14, 2018 May 14, 2018

While many, many people minimize the Bible–or even discard it completely–as they try to live out their “Christian lives”, there are many who just don’t know what it says. This new series “What Does the Bible Say About…” is for those of you who just don’t know. While I can’t make someone care about what the Bible says, I can help those of you that truly desire to know the truth found in God’s Word. Whether you are a new believer or you are someone who has been deceived by false doctrine and God is now opening your eyes or you are simply filled with a fresh hunger to know God’s Word and what it says, this series is for you.

So few people know what the Bible teaches about things anymore that most conversations are simply about personal opinions. But personal opinions (including mine) do not matter. Only what God says matters and we can only find this in God’s written Word: the Holy Bible. It is my desire that this series will help you learn what God has to say about certain topics and that, in learning this, you will be better able to sort through all of the stuff that comes your way when these topics are brought up at church, at family gatherings, or at work.

I have a few ideas about topics, but if you have any you’d like me to cover, please email me at leslie {at} growing4life {dot} net. I will be happy to do some research and dig in the Word to find answers, as my time allows.

This first installment will focus on false teachers. What exactly does the Bible teach about false teachers and our response to them? This seems like a good topic, because I am regularly called to task for pointing out false teachers or errant doctrine. I am told that I am being unloving and unkind and should focus elsewhere. I know that this same thing happens to many of you, as well. But what does the Word say about false teachers? Because that is all we really need to know.

So let’s start off by taking a little quiz and then I will cover each question, one-by-one below.

Okay, so do you have your answers in your head? Time to see what scripture has to say…

1. FALSE. Jesus did publicly denounce both the Pharisses and the Sadducees in Matthew 16. He does so again in Matthew 23. In Matthew 15:12-14 Jesus warns his disciples to stay away from the Pharisees–

Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”¹³But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

While Jesus was always extremely kind and loving to those who were lost (such as Zacchaeus and the Samaritan Woman), we know that He treated false teachers–those who would pervert truth–with harshness. He even drove out the money changers and upturned the tables in the temple in righteous anger because these evil men were offending God’s Holy name (Matthew 21:12-13).

It is really important that we know and understand the Jesus of the Bible, rather than get our information from people who claim to “hear personal messages from Him” and describe Jesus from a source from which we have no way of knowing to be true. While that “Jesus” may be more appealing, the Jesus we find in the Bible is the real Jesus. And the real Jesus did not hesitate to call out false teachers.

2. FALSE. Calling out false teachers and making others aware of false teaching is actually one of the most loving things we can do. Think of it like this: If someone is running at top speed towards a cliff, would you just let them fall off the edge without shouting out a warning? Warning of false teachers is no different. Spiritual danger and calamity abounds when we leave the solid ground of sound doctrine and fall off the cliff and on to the hard, jagged rocks of false teaching. True loves calls out a warning. Paul puts it like this in Ephesians 4:14-16:

that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

These verses make it clear that in order to have healthy growth in the body of Christ, we must hold truth in high esteem. Otherwise, we will be misguided and deceived by the trickery of men and carried away by false doctrine. This will lead to division and strife (which is exactly what we are seeing take place today).

And I John 3:18 confirms this, as well:

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Speaking the truth is how we show love. Another example would be this: Let’s say your best friend finds out that your husband is having an affair. What is the most loving thing for her to do? Simply ignore it and pretend it isn’t happening? Is this what a loving friend who cares about you would do? Of course not. True friends tell the truth because they care more about the long-term ramifications and devastating consequences that will affect their friend than they care about the short-term hurt feelings and unpleasantness that may result from speaking the truth.

And I Timothy 3:3-6 clarifies and confirms this even further–

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, ⁴nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. ⁵Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, ⁶from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, ⁷desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.

Real division and disputes are caused by those who bring in the false teaching. Not by those who lovingly confront it. How backwards and upside down the church has become. We have swallowed unbiblical, politically-correct thinking “hook, line, and sinker”.

3. TRUE. We have several examples of Paul naming names in scripture. See 2 Timothy 1:15 and 4:14. Another example is 2 Timothy 2:16-18–

And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, ¹⁸who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some.

We also see that John was unafraid to call out a false teacher in 3 John, verses 9-10:

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. ¹⁰Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

If we have several examples of this in the scriptures from Jesus, Paul, and John, shouldn’t we naturally assume that it is not sinful to call out a false teacher? In fact, should we not consider it our duty? Let’s look at a few verses that command us to call out false teaching and false teachers–

Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

Romans 16:17-18 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. ¹⁸For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus^[d] Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

Jude 3-4 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God^[b] and our Lord Jesus Christ.

4. FALSE. We are not to accept every wave of doctrine so that we can preserve unity. We can see this from the verses right above. We also know that Scripture teaches that true unity can only be protected by keeping our doctrine pure. I Timothy 6:3-5 says this:

If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, ⁴he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, ⁵useless wranglings^[a] of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

From such withdraw yourself. Notice it does not say “unify with” or “compromise”. Instead it says we are to withdraw ourselves from those who do not teach the truth.

5. FALSE. We know that unity cannot be more important than truth, because Jesus Himself says this in Luke 12:49-53:

I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! ⁵¹Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. ⁵²For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. ⁵³Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

If unity were more important, He would never have said such a thing. But from these verses we can also realize that there are two paths that can never be unified. They are in complete opposition to one another and go two completely different directions. This is further confirmed in Matthew 7:13-14, where Jesus contrasts the narrow way with the broad way of destruction:

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴Because^[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

From these verses, we know that there is the path of truth and there is the path of falsehood and destruction and the two can never be unified. Therefore, truth will always have to trump the false unity that comes from compromising with unbiblical teaching. Compromised doctrine or teaching will automatically lead people to the broad road of destruction. Just as a drop of poison contaminates a clear glass of water, so even a drop of false teaching leads people away from the narrow path.

6. FALSE. I am not sure how so many passages on false teaching can be so intentionally ignored, but the Bible is clear in a number of places that false teaching is a very real thing and that we must be concerned about it–

I John 4:1-3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ³and every spirit that does not confess that^[a] Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

2 Peter 2:1-3 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. ²And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. ³By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does^[a] not slumber.

2 Corinthians 11:12-15 But what I do, I will also continue to do, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. ¹³For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. ¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

I Thessalonians 5:21-22 Test all things; hold fast what is good. ²²Abstain from every form of evil.

7. TRUE. We do know that false teaching will continue to grow as we approach the last days, since the Bible makes this very clear–

Matthew 24:23-25 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. ²⁴For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵See, I have told you beforehand.

2 Timothy 3:1-7 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: ²For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! ⁶For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, ⁷always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Timothy 3:13-15 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

This is not my normal kind of post. However, it is my prayer that this post will not only help those who honestly want to know what the Bible says about false teachers, but that it can also be bookmarked and used as a reference for those of you who are faced with accusations that you are being divisive and unkind and unloving when you call out a false teacher. The verses above should bolster and encourage us when we are ready to cave or to just be quiet. God’s Word reminds us that we are doing the right thing by calling out false teaching and false teachers.

More and more, people will throw accusations as you seek to protect and defend God and the truth of His Word. They will marginalize you, call you names, and be angry with you. But we must be like soldiers and put on our spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:13f). We must be filled with love and grace as we fight, but we cannot back down. It takes a great deal of courage but God is faithful and He will give us the strength and boldness we need. Keep up the good fight, dear readers. Keep up the good fight.

The Smallest Crack

5 Comments / May 10, 2018 May 10, 2018

If you live in the country you know that mice can get in the smallest, teeniest, tiniest crack there is. They can slip under a door or scurry through a small hole in the wall. They will find any area that has not been sealed properly. Even when you think you have everything boarded up tight, you will find that mice will often find a way in. Especially in the fall when it’s starting to get cold.

As I was finishing up the final chapter of a *Bible Study based on the book of James last week, there was a list of questions given at the end that made me realize that pride is just like that mouse. It slips in quietly, often unnoticed, in the unsealed places of our hearts and minds. We had spent the last several chapters of the study learning about biblical humility and pride. James does not mince words, as we can see in chapter 4, verses 6–

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”

God resists the proud. And He gives grace to the humble. We already know this. But have we given thought recently to just how pride will slip in through even the smallest crack in our spiritual armor? It slithers in unbeknownst to us while we are patting ourselves on the back for not being prideful. It slides down into our hearts when we are least expecting it. Compliments and applaud and rewards make us even more vulnerable.

The more I study the Bible, the more I understand these three things: 1) how much God hates pride 2) just how deadly pride is to godly, righteous living and 3) how susceptible I am to it at all times.

As I worked on that final chapter and read through those questions, I thought that you all might appreciate this, as well. I think these questions are very revealing. They help us understand that pride isn’t simply boasting or having an arrogant attitude. It is so very much more than that, as we will see by this list of questions. At the end of the final chapter of his Bible Study on James, Steve Pettit says this–

Sometimes we view humility as the absence of outrageous vanity and boasting. But evaluating our pride should go much deeper than such surface observations. Consider the following questions (I have added a few comments in parentheses):

1. Am I a critical person?

2. Do I regularly question authority?

3. Do I make fun of weaker, less privileged people?

4. Do I treat people differently based on their status? (Or on their wealth or their position in the company where I work or their leadership role at church?)

5. Am I dissatisfied with God’s Word as sufficient for life and godliness? (Or do I crave a supernatural experience that will make me feel special and important?)

6. Do I make plans without making the Lord the center of my life?

7. Do I shift blame instead of taking responsibility for my actions? (Do I get defensive if someone confronts me?)

8. Do I widely proclaim my views but rarely listen? (At home, at work, at church, on the sidelines–am I more concerned with being heard or with hearing others?)

9. Do I hold grudges instead of extending forgiveness?

10. Do I put up a front instead of confessing my faults to those who can help? (Do I confess my sins to God? To others? Am I willing to humbly apologize?)

11. Do I pray sparingly? (Lack of prayer indicates that we believe we can do life on our own.)

I don’t know about you, but this is quite a list! How did you do? Were you as convicted as me?? Does this list help you recognize that pride is something very real in your life? That it has seeped into the cracks of your armor–even when you didn’t realize it? Like that tiny mouse or a slithering poisonous snake, it slides through the smallest crack and takes up residence in our heart before we even know it.

Pettit gives this final paragraph–

The point of these questions is not to drive you to simply to do better. Answering yes to some of these questions is the first step toward repentance and receiving God’s grace, because a humble person is honest. He understands what David confessed–that God wants us to have integrity in our hearts (Psalm 51:6). Recognizing spiritual unfaithfulness and pride does not mean we pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. It means running to Christ for superabundant grace. It means humbling ourselves to get back on the path of wisdom from above.

We have to face the fact that we can’t fix ourselves. In this day and age of self-help, we think we should be able to. Removing ourselves from the path of earthly, human wisdom means discarding our pride and putting on humility, recognizing that only God can give us the grace and strength we need for permanent change and righteous living.

And then we must remain in the Word and keep our eyes open because that deadly pride will slip in through the cracks once again, as soon as we leave even the slightest chink in our armor. We will see it when we argue with our spouse. It will crop up when someone criticizes something we did. And when we are tempted to criticize someone else. It rears its ugly head when we are hurt and rejected, when someone tells us what to do, when someone compliments us, or when we get too busy to pray. It is a constant danger to all believers and we must be on the lookout at all times.

So, over the next few days, let’s reflect on how pride tends to manifest itself in our own lives. Let’s ask the Lord to grow us in humility. Let’s be sure to keep our spiritual armor on (Ephesians 6:10-20), so that we may withstand those arrows of temptation thrown at us every day. And let’s thoroughly and regularly examine our spiritual armor for chinks and gaps so that– while we are busy defending ourselves from the “bigger sins”–pride doesn’t slip in, quiet as a mouse, and take up residence in our hearts.

*From Wisdom from Above: A Study in James by Steve Pettit

An Unpleasant and Unpopular Truth

4 Comments / April 30, 2018 April 30, 2018

God, through the writing of Paul, gives us such a clear picture of what an unregenerate soul looks like. This is especially clear in the third chapter of Titus, but we find it in many other passages, as well.

I find it curious that–while this is so clear in scripture–so few pastors and teachers are willing to teach that this kind of life would indicate that someone is in danger of hellfire. It would appear that, if someone professes with their mouth that they are saved and yet has no fruit to back up that profession, we have adopted a “hands-off” approach, yielding to the politically-correct dogma that would teach that to challenge their profession of faith would be to demean, belittle, or even hate them.

But could anything be further from the truth? Wouldn’t the most loving thing to do in a situation like this be to show them the truth from God’s Word? Let’s take a look at how the Word describes unbelievers and believers. (When describing unbelievers it refers to ingrained patterns of behavior where there is no conviction, no confession, and no repentance and where there is no effort to remove oneself from temptation or the sinning behavior. Keep in mind that no person–believers included–can ever be sinless. The key is the battle. True believers hate sin and continue to fight it, always working, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow in their sanctification and holiness.)

Okay, let’s take a look at some of these passages–

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (Titus 3:3)

The unregenerate are foolish, disobedient, easily led astray, and slaves to various passions and pleasures. They pass their days in malice and envy. They are hated by others and they hate one another.

This is how the Word describes us before we are saved. As unpleasant as it is to contemplate, we have to admit that if someone lives like this–day in and day out–without any conviction or desire to change, we have to recognize that they are probably not saved, no matter what they say with their mouth. True belief is always revealed by actions.

Let’s think of this in terms of a marriage. If a husband says he loves his wife but then he cheats on her and abuses her and fills their home with the things she hates, then we have to conclude that he is only saying the words but doesn’t really mean them. His actions have not backed up his words.

Let’s go back to Titus 3. After describing the unredeemed, Paul then goes on to pen these verses–

⁴But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

This is the difference that Jesus makes! Isn’t this a beautiful thought? We are redeemed and changed through God’s transforming power!

When we minimize the transformation of a saved soul through the blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit we diminish the miraculous and radical thing that salvation really is. When we don’t expect someone to grow or we nonchalantly classify someone as “definitely saved” when they give no evidence of it, we belittle the work that Jesus Christ did on the cross.

Let’s look at a few more verses that would indicate the differences between believers and unbelievers. I can think of no better place to go for this than Galatians 5:16-24–

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹envy,^[d] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do^[e] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Here we find a long and comprehensive list of the sins of the flesh. This whole list–like it or not–describes the unregenerate. How do I know this for sure? It is in verse 22 with that little word “but” where we can see that the fruits of the Spirit are in total opposition to the works of the flesh. Verse 24 clarifies further: And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. This is what believers do–we have crucified, we continue to daily crucify–the flesh. Any person who isn’t willingly doing this or isn’t even slightly interested in doing this is giving evidence that they very well may not be saved.

Look–I don’t take joy out of saying this. I wish it were different. But this is what the Word of God says. I know that this is an extremely unpopular message in today’s church. I do get that. In fact, just yesterday I saw a post by a very popular “Christian” blogger who declared on Twitter that she could never serve a God who would send most everyone to hell. The comment thread that followed made anyone who did believe in what the Bible teaches about hell look ridiculously archaic and incredibly stupid.

But should unpopularity keep us from speaking the truth as we find it in the Bible?

Galatians 5 would indicate that after we are saved and the Holy Spirit indwells us, our lives should increasingly show the fruits of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Now none of us exhibit these fruits perfectly. And none of us live our new life in Christ without fighting some of these sins of the flesh. Some of us have victory in one of these areas, while others remain a lifelong challenge for us. But remember–the key is in the battle. This is the sin nature and we know that we will fight this battle against sin until the day we die (Romans 7:18-25). While this can be a discouraging thought, we also have these marvelous promises–

Romans 6:6 – Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:

The battle with sin may be always with us but we never have to serve sin again. We have a new Master who walks with us, works in us for His glory, and we are new creatures living for God.

One who is regenerated gives evidence of this in their life. The one who is not saved lives for himself/herself.

How many people claim the name of Christ today and yet live wholly and fully for themselves? How many say they walked the aisle or said a prayer and yet haven’t given any evidence of a transformed life in Christ? The numbers that fall into this category are staggering. And yet, somehow, the church has sanctioned this and would criticize not the hypocrite but those who would reveal this tragic truth that is clearly taught in scripture (Matthew 7:15-20).

I would like to just add one final thing as I close and this is a really important aspect of this conversation: None of us knows what is going on in the heart of any person. Only God knows. I would never–and you should never–tell someone they aren’t saved. There is no possible way for us to know this and that is God’s job. But what we can do is lovingly point them to what God’s Word says about their lifestyle, behavior, or actions. We can pray for opportunities to talk with them about their lack of fruit or disinterest in living a holy life. We can open our eyes to the possibility that they might not be saved and begin diligently praying for them instead of living in the comfortable place of naive assumptions.

Because the stakes are high. So high.

We know of this danger because Jesus Christ makes it clear for us in these verses–

Matthew 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

There are few sadder verses in scripture than these. Let’s take them to heart, dear reader. Not only for ourselves but for those we love. We never want to leave unsaid what could have–and should have– been said. Life is so fragile. I have become more aware of that than ever these last few weeks. When our loved ones are snatched away by that great thief, Death, we don’t want to be left with uncertainty when we ask that final question: Where are they now?

How to Have a Productive Quiet Time

2 Comments / April 26, 2018 April 26, 2018

As believers, we recognize the value of a quiet time each day with the Lord. While we aren’t commanded anywhere specifically to have this time, the Bible does tell us to meditate on and to delight in the Word (Psalm 1:2; Psalm 19; Psalm 119) and to spend time in our closets in prayer (Matthew 6:6).

From the time I was a little child, I remember being encouraged to have my “devotions”, in which I would read from a book that would give a few verses and then a paragraph or two about those verses. The older I got, the more I recognized that many of those devotional books aren’t real meat. While there isn’t anything wrong with some of them, they are more like a dessert. Most aren’t giving enough scripture to be the meat we need for our sustenance as a growing believer. But they are easier and so we like them. We can read the portion for the day and then check “quiet time” off our day’s to-do list.

It wasn’t until I started reading the actual Bible every day that I started to really grow. But, let’s be honest, Satan doesn’t want us in the Word. Since the power for life and godliness is within its pages, he wants to do all he can to keep us out of it. Biblical illiteracy and neglect renders us ineffective for Jesus Christ’s purposes and it often keeps us imprisoned by sin. (For those of us who would point fingers at the “obvious” sins, don’t forget that a complaining or anxious or selfish heart is also sin…very real temptations for all of us!)

And so as we start studying the Word in a deeper way and spending more time in prayer, what can we do to make sure our quiet time is as productive as possible? I thought I would break this down a bit today and offer a few helpful suggestions. Interestingly enough, this post is born out of my own distractions the other day. I started thinking about this while I was supposed to be having my quiet time!! Anyway…here are six things that may be keeping us from having the best quiet time we can have–

1. Life

Life is just busy. Sports schedules, workouts and training, committee meetings, church activities, jobs–all of these can wear us out and distract us from our relationship with the Lord. If we have preschool or home-schooled children, it can add a whole different dynamic to this idea of finding a half hour to dedicate to this. How do we keep from being distracted by life duties and pressures? Here are a few suggestions–

First, plan a time. Morning, evening, afternoon–it doesn’t really matter. But plan it like you plan your workout or coffee with a friend or your favorite TV show. If you say you don’t have time, then I encourage you to examine your schedule to see what you can eliminate. Nothing should be more important than this. Sure, some of us are temporarily caught up in a whirlwind of activity beyond our control, but that is not the case for most of us. If you have kids at home, designate a quiet time for all of you. I did this when I home-schooled and it became the hour that energized me for the rest of the day. At 1pm every day the children would go to their rooms. They didn’t have to sleep but they did have to look at or read books or quietly rest. And then I would have my quiet time. Or at least that was the idea–but, instead, I’d often be distracted by my “to-do” list. Which leads me to…

Second, make your time with the Lord a priority. Recognize the value in spending time with Him and realize that whatever is calling your name is not more important than your time with Him. I look back and can see this now. I hope I can encourage you to not make the same mistake I did!

2. Feelings

Feelings can be SO deceiving. And think of how often we obey them! We think if we don’t feel like praying or getting in the Word, then it is perfectly fine not to do so. I struggle with this so much. And, yet, I find that when I ignore my feelings and do it anyway, my feelings soon tag along afterwards and I am so glad that I moved ahead and did the right thing, despite my feelings. This is worthy of a blog post alone because this is what is driving so many choices regarding all of life! If we can say NO to our feelings and YES to doing the right thing, we will have won a HUGE victory in our battle with the flesh.

3. Technology

Have you ever been in the middle of praying when suddenly you hear that little ding or buzz go off on the table beside you? Your curiosity drives you to look at your phone–interrupting your prayer time. Or perhaps you are reading scripture and it brings something to mind you want to look up…and since your phone or tablet is right beside you and you can look anything up at any time…

I confess that this is something I really struggle with. I have learned it is best for me to keep my phone and iPad in a different room when I am praying and reading my Bible every morning.

Technology is a wonderful thing, but it is also a very exacting taskmaster. We have become enslaved to our phones and instant communication. We believe it is our responsibility to be available to everyone at all times. But will the world really stop if we don’t respond for 30 minutes?

This is such a struggle for me. Did I mention that? Sometimes I really long for the old days–at least when it comes to having my quiet time…

4. Self-Absorption

Track with me here as I unpack this one. I have recognized that my quiet time can often be overtaken by my absorption with myself. Whether it’s reading the scripture, greedily searching for some personal comfort or it’s my prayer time being consumed with my own selfish desires, I find I quickly fall into the trap of selfishness during my quiet time. This attitude will keep me from having a productive quiet time. A truly quality quiet time has us humble and yielded before the Lord with a heart that desires to obey. Coming before the Lord with a prideful, greedy, selfish heart will keep us from having a close relationship with the Lord–no matter how many hours we may spend with Him.

5. Sinful Attitudes

This is a bit similar to #4 but I don’t think we always see that. When we come to our quiet time with an unforgiving heart or with a grudge against someone, we are putting a wall up between us and the Lord. Walls are also built by our anxious heart (we are saying with our actions that we don’t trust the Lord), our envious or jealous heart (we are discontent with what the Lord has provided), and our prideful heart (we are saying we don’t need the Lord). These things keep us from drawing near to the Lord in spirit, even if we are physically sitting and reading the Bible.

6. Improper View of God and Man

Okay, so this is a little deeper theologically than the others, but please keep reading. I think this is really important. This really encompasses all of the above.

I believe we are often kept from a productive quiet time because we don’t really know God. We don’t give any thought to the fact that He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), immutable (never-changing), and absolutely sovereign. We don’t have a big enough view of Him and we treat Him like a casual friend. Yes, He is our friend but He is so much more than that! He is God! We should have reverence and godly fear when we approach Him.

And, then, we have a wrong view of self. We have nothing to offer God. We couldn’t even live and breathe if God didn’t allow it. We must recognize our dependence upon God for every single thing. Realizing this naturally changes how we approach scripture and prayer.

Having a proper view of God and self are so critical to a thriving and vibrant walk with the Lord. And proper views will help us navigate and eliminate the first five items on this list.

Well…

That was a lot to take in, wasn’t it? But I hope that this list of six things may give you some ideas on improving your quiet time. I know it really made me think as I wrote it. If we love God and we want to walk as closely with Him as possible, it is imperative that we make our quiet time as productive as we possibly can.

How Do I Respond to My Enemies?

2 Comments / April 23, 2018 April 23, 2018

So often Christians find themselves at odd with other Christians. There will be two true believers who just do not agree. Whether it’s a disagreement over something as simple as a remodeling project at church or it’s a deeper issue of how a certain scripture passage should be interpreted, we will always find someone that we will disagree with about something.

What keeps two people who disagree with each other from being enemies? What brings true Christian unity?

Please keep in mind that this post is referring to unity between true believers and not to the “fake” unity that warmly embraces all perversions of the Gospel and even religions that don’t adhere to the Gospel at all to be unified under the broad term of “Christianity”. We know that this kind of unity is not biblical, according to Galatians 1:9–

As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

But there is something that is called true, Christian unity. This unity can only exist between brothers and sisters in Christ. This kind of unity keeps us moving toward the same goals and embracing the same purpose. This unity builds bridges instead of walls. It will fill Christians with loving concern for one another instead of filling them with grudges, resentment, and jealousy.

This sounds so wonderful, doesn’t it? But it is often hard to find. Why is this?

Why does someone decide they do not like someone?

Sometimes we don’t care for someone based on a shallow, silly thing. And then there are also better reasons, based on things like biblical error or a prideful, arrogant spirit that is consistently divisive.

But we have to ask ourselves: Are any of these reasons good enough? If you were to stand before God today and tell Him your reason for not liking a certain person, would He say, “Way to go, my child. I agree with you completely.” ??

Of course we know the answer, don’t we? Because we know that God is love. We shouldn’t view anyone as an enemy, much less a brother or sister in Christ.

Romans 12:8 puts it like this–

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

We should, to the best of our ability, work at being at peace with everyone, believer and non-believer. This verse naturally brings two thoughts to my mind.

First, what if someone won’t be at unity with me?

Of course, since we know that the world will hate us (John 15:19), we know that it isn’t always possible to be at peace with those in the world. But sometimes it is a fellow Christian who refuses to forgive us. Or perhaps they just don’t like us but won’t tell us why. What then? These kinds of situations are heart-breaking and lead to feelings of helplessness as we try to navigate the back-biting, the whispering, and the cold shoulders.

I have a friend who taught me an important lesson about this very thing. Our daughters were playing soccer together and something happened to her little girl that could have started some real drama on the team. And this was her advice to her daughter, “kill them with kindness”. I heard her say that so often when her daughter would feel slighted or frustrated about something. And then, following her example, I started to say this to my kids. Yes, this is what we are called to do.

In fact, Jesus takes it even further in Matthew 5:43-44, telling us to love them, bless them, do good to them, and to pray for them!–

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

This is a tall order, is it not? But there it is. Commanded by Jesus in the Holy Bible. Instead of gossiping, instead of returning the coldness, instead of resentment or anger, we love, we bless, we do good things, and we pray for them.

But we do this because it is right, not because it will necessarily change anything. Let’s go back to the beginning of Romans 12:18–

“if it is possible, as much as it depends on you”

We know from these words that Paul realized it isn’t always possible. It is part of living life as a sinner, alongside sinners, in a fallen world. Sometimes we just have to follow Jesus’s words and find contentment even when there is no resolution and no forgiveness. A hard thing, indeed. But, you know what? This is just another thing that God uses to grow us and to teach us that we must find our peace and joy in Him alone.

Second, we won’t be best friends with everyone.

Even among truly unified Christian brothers and sisters, there will be those who are “kindred spirits” and those who are not. And that’s okay. But so often special friendships between Christians are viewed with resentment or jealousy. As believers we should realize that we will be better friends with some than others. It is how God designed us. Remember David and Jonathan? If you read I Samuel 18, you will realize that their friendship was very special. Once in a while, God will bring these special Christian friends into our world. They are true treasures and, instead of feeling jealous, we should be glad for others if they have found a special friend.

If we are still longing for this type of friendship, then pray and ask God to bring you a friend. I remember as a young mom feeling the need for this type of friend and so, unbeknownst to me, my mom started praying. And within a year or so of her prayers, God led me to Deb. We realized we were kindred spirits as we sat in a group of women and chatted and, shortly after, became best friends. Don’t underestimate the power of prayer if you need a friend!

And then there are those fellow Christians in our lives who could never be a kindred spirit. In fact, some of them drive us a little crazy. We may feel guilty if we don’t appreciate a Christian brother or sister like we know we should. What then?

God made us all different and certain personalities may grate on us. We may find them hard to get along with or their mannerisms alone might irritate us. They may be boastful or arrogant.

But if we take a look at Philippians 2:1-2, we have to acknowledge that God doesn’t give us any caveat for difficult people–

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ²fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

We are to be like-minded with all Christians–as much as it depends on us. We obviously can’t control the other person.

So how do we do this? How can we be like-minded? These verses show us–we have the same love, the same accord, the same mind as our fellow Christians. This can only be done if we are diligently studying the scriptures together, submitting our desires and wills to God, joyfully obeying the commands we find there, while increasing our knowledge of God. When people are not getting along, it often goes back to this. Biblical illiteracy once again rears its ugly head in church matters.

And, along with knowing God’s Word, we find the oil that keeps things working together smoothly in Colossians 3:14–

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

I Corinthians 13:4-6 gives us a description of this love that will break down barriers and bind Christians together in perfect unity–

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

And I Peter 4:8 is further confirmation of this idea that love will bring unity–

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Even when we don’t particularly appreciate a fellow Christian, we can love them. We are commanded to love them. And we should thank the Lord for them, for they are helping us to grow in patience and self-control!

Enemies are just part of life. If we are going to take any stand at all on the things that matter, we will have enemies. We cannot control how they treat us, but we can control how we treat them. And let’s intentionally work at not having needless enemies. We must back away from the stuff that doesn’t matter. Will it matter in a hundred years what color carpet is used in the church? Is a slight difference in how someone interprets the book of Revelation really a cause for division? Let’s wisely and, oh so carefully, choose our battles. Most hills we choose to stand on are just not worth dying on. We don’t always have to be right. We don’t always have to have our way. So often it just doesn’t matter.

And most of all, when we find ourselves in the midst of a heated disagreement with a fellow Christian or facing a full-blown enemy, then let’s love them. Love them, bless them, do good to them, and pray for them. If you don’t remember anything else from this post, I hope you will remember these words of Jesus.

How Do You Listen to Gossip?

6 Comments / April 19, 2018 April 19, 2018

Have you ever had one of those conversations where you are talking about a TV show like it’s really happening? The people, the situations, the happenings? I had one of those the other day and as I walked away from that conversation, I realized that we often have more loyalty for and kindness and grace towards people on TV.

I know it seems silly to even compare the two, since we are obviously personally affected by real people so that makes all the difference in the world, but it does seem sad that we can keep so level-headed and impartial when discussing TV friends and completely lose that when discussing real people.

Of course, we shouldn’t really be discussing real people most of the time. Sure, there are instances where we need to work through a problem with a trusted, godly friend or mentor, but, overall, we should not be talking about people. Ephesians 4:29 says this: Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

But this is not a post about spreading or speaking gossip. It’s a post about listening to gossip and our subsequent actions after we’ve heard it.

So many of us hear will listen to someone talk about someone and, instead of defending them or kindly asking them to stop, we will just jump right in and join the conversation. Or we will listen without speaking while making assumptions that will change our friendship with the person being spoken about. There is no grace. No kindness. No loyalty.

Or perhaps someone will talk about someone behind their back, telling you terrible things that person said about you. What do you do? Do you do what you should?

This happened to friends of ours. But let me first give some background. We had made a really, really tough decision after much prayer and agony. Because of the nature of the decision, there were many rumors flying around about us and lies told. We know of at least three specific lies that were told about us that made their way to our ears “through the grapevine”.

But only one couple actually loved us enough to call us. The wife called and asked us specifically if we had said such-and-such about them. My heart sank when I realized that someone I had trusted had said such a vicious thing about us. But, even in my dismay, I realized that this couple–instead of believing the worst–loved us enough to confront us and ask us about it.

We lost a lot of friends through those swirls of rumors and accusations, but these two remain our friends to this day. They exemplified what true biblical love and friendship are. They didn’t believe the worst about us, as seems to be the natural thing to do, but they bravely went right to the source. They cared enough to ask.

So what do we do when we hear gossip? Do we automatically believe it? Do we jump on the bandwagon and join the fun? Do we internalize it and allow it to create a cool distance with the person who has absolutely no idea what was said behind their back?

We have to be oh, so careful of this, don’t we? So many of us who wouldn’t ever be caught gossiping just aren’t very good at listening to gossip.

So how should we listen to gossip? Let’s see what scripture says–

First, we should view them as innocent until proven guilty. If there is a personal accusation involved, ask them lovingly and kindly if the words spoken are true. If they aren’t, move on. If they are, forgive and move on. Life is just too short for grudges. It really is. (Of course, this is the “simplified model” of relationships and it doesn’t always work. Especially with those who have no evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.)

Colossians 3:12-14 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ¹⁴But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Second, we should not let it affect our relationship with them. Does it really matter? Does it affect you personally? If the answer is no (and most times it is) then just continue your relationship with that person. Remember that you don’t know any of the details at all. You don’t know the situations, the circumstances, the agony, the fear, the anxiety that was all part of that person’s journey to whatever choice they made. Unless it is something that is currently hurting you, them, or others around them, just forget you heard it. We all have done things in the past we aren’t proud of, am I right??

Luke 6:31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

Third, if what you hear is about a Christian involved in sin (such as that person is involved in an affair or addicted to a substance), prayerfully consider speaking to them about it. Talk with a trusted leader in your church or some other godly person you know to ask for their advice.

Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

Fourth, pray for that person. Instead of letting gossip fill your heart with disgust or anger or frustration, let it fill your heart with love and compassion that will remind you to pray. Oh, how often we accuse, examine, and talk about without ever lifting that person up before the throne of Grace.

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses^[e] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Fifth, and when appropriate, steer the conversation a different way. You be the one to change the course of the discussion. Instead of joining, be the deflector. Instead of listening, be the one who changes the direction.

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

As always, I offer this post not as someone who has this nailed down but, instead, as a lowly servant of Jesus Christ who still struggles with all of this. As I write, I can see so many weaknesses in my own handling of gossip. God’s Word powerfully convicts you and me to grow in our faith and move beyond the status quo Christianity that so easily ensnares us.

I leave you with these beautiful verses from I Corinthians 13. We most often hear these spoken at weddings, as two people pledge their lives to one another. But perhaps we should read them every day. They remind us of not only the spirit with which we should listen to gossip, but also give us a pattern for how we should treat others in every other way, as well.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The Chains of “Cool”

4 Comments / April 16, 2018 April 16, 2018

I am not sure what the latest word is that would describe someone who is dressed in the latest fashions and has the latest everything. We used to say they were “cool” and then “hip”. I am not sure what that word is now. (Yes, I know I am definitely showing my age here, but hopefully you will stick with me…)

When we were teens we were so driven by peer pressure. Can you remember those days? When I was in high school, the “in” thing to have was designer jeans. Jordache, Calvin Klein, and Gloria Vanderbilt jeans were the thing to wear. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up but my mom took me school shopping late one summer and we found a good deal on Calvin Klein jeans. Wow, those jeans made me feel amazing! I finally looked “cool” (at least I thought I did–I’m not sure that anyone else thought that!)

We often think peer pressure is for young ones and goes away as we get older, but it really doesn’t. For some of us it does get better, but for many of us we continue to live driven by what people think of us.

Now, before we dig a little deeper into this subject of adult peer pressure, there is value in considering the thoughts and feelings of others. Paul talks about this in I Corinthians 8, where he is discussing things eaten to idols. In verse 9 he reminds us that we should think of others as we make choices that we have the freedom to make in Christ–

But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.

There are many other verses in the New Testament that would encourage us to think of and love others (check out Philippians 2:3-4, I Corinthians 13, and I John 3).

So, of course, we know we must consider the thoughts and feelings of others. But notice that these verses are always “others” centered. Every one of the verses above and any other verse you will find about how we treat others in the New Testament is based on minimizing self, while focusing our attention on the other person.

Contrast this thought to the chains of “cool” (as I call them), which are completely focused on self. They are an obsession with making sure that we are thought of highly, that people think we have it all. They bring a preoccupation with the world’s styles, trends, and happenings. These chains keep us from speaking up about God and from sharing the Gospel. They are often the driving force behind the laughs at dirty jokes and the silent participation in things we know God hates.

These chains become a prison from which no action can be done without first thinking of its affect on what people will think of us. Rather than God’s desires and looking to His Word, these chains become the driving force behind what we wear, what we watch, what we do.

They are really a tiresome and ugly taskmaster but no one seems to care all that much. Looking like everyone else around us can become such an ingrained idol, that we soon grow used to those chains, forgetting the wonderful freedom we have in Christ.

(You have to wonder what kind of role peer pressure has played in history. Was it part of how Hitler became the chancellor of Germany and convinced young people to take part in the genocide of Jews? Is it how he got the German Christians to ignore what was going on around them? It is a powerful, powerful tool in the hands of the wrong man.)

So how do we make sure that peer pressure isn’t what is driving us personally? How do we keep free from the bondage of those chains of “cool”?

The first place (and really only place) to look for answers is the Bible. It is a hard discussion to have because what the Bible teaches goes against all that the world and even the church is saying currently. The world is telling us we must be like them in order to have any respect at all. The world would have us give up all biblical convictions and cave on the most basic of principles in order to be liked by them. This has led to great compromise, as we watch more and more churches capitulate to the demands of the world. Meanwhile, the mainstream church is saying we must be like the world to win the world. The great sin of the day is irrelevance. One has to wonder how low the view of God must be for someone who perpetuates this viewpoint but it is incredibly popular. So much so that it is now woven into the thought patterns of most young people and many old ones, as well. But, as we will will see below, this is actually in opposition to what the Bible teaches.

Let’s unpack this a bit and look at what God has to say about these things.

First, let’s look at what our view of the world’s opinions should be. There are many verses that talk about how we should view the world, but I am going to share James 4:4, which makes it extremely clear–

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

There is no ambiguity here. You cannot be friends with the world and with God at the same time. Think of a big river. The world is headed one way and the Christian is swimming upstream in the other direction, in complete opposition to the world. We cannot be swimming downstream and still claim to be God’s child. James couldn’t be any clearer on this point.

Practically speaking, this means that while there is nothing innately wrong with dressing stylishly or going to the movies or whatever, the driving force behind our choice should never be our desire to be like everyone else. Our choices shouldn’t be driven by our fear of the world’s derision, marginalization, and persecution.

Now, if you are being honest with yourself at this point, you will agree with me that this is much easier to write and read than to live out. We are naturally driven by our desire to fit in. It takes great intention and strength to stand out like a sore thumb in the midst of a crowd. It is not an easy path. But we know it is the path of the Christian. Jesus tells us this in John 15:19–

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

And Paul confirms Jesus’s words in 2 Timothy 3:12–

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

These aren’t our favorite verses and I rather guess they are rarely chosen for Bible memory, and yet these are just two verses of many more that would remind us that we will not be loved by the world if we walk with Jesus Christ.

I don’t love to be reminded of this any more than you do, but it is the truth, according to the Bible.

Now, let’s look a bit at the church’s argument that we won’t win anyone to the Gospel without being like them. What does the Bible have to say about this?

The verse that always comes to mind when this discussion comes up is John 6:44–

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

In this verse, Jesus reminds us that it is the Father who draws man unto Himself. There is nothing we can do to make someone become saved. Ephesians 1:3-6 further elaborates on this same theme–

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

These verses teach us that the salvation of those we love and care about is not based on what we do or do not do. Now, that being said, God does choose to use us to win souls for Him. But what we must remember is that He doesn’t need us. These verses shouldn’t keep us from sharing the Gospel but they should most definitely keep us from compromising our convictions and participating in sinful things under the guise of “winning people to Christ”. God chooses to use us but He doesn’t need our compromise and dalliances with the world to further His kingdom. In contrast, James would tell us to remain unspotted from the world (James 1:27). (And may I suggest that prayer would be a much better way to win those we love. God answers prayer! It is a much more effective tool than worldliness!)

I wish I could tell you that I have never worn the chains of “cool”. I really do. But, unfortunately, sometimes before I even realize it, I find myself in bondage to them once again. Thankfully, the Word is the key that unlocks the lock to those chains. When I get back into the Word, when I stay in the Word, that is when I am least vulnerable to these chains.

If you find yourself really driven by what other people think of you, I hope that you will get into the Word and dig deeper into this subject. There is so much there that I wasn’t able to include in this short post.

Let’s unlock that lock and shake off those chains, so that we can be vibrant, courageous, and unwavering testimonies for Christ.