Neither the church or this country

are meant to be Israel

 

Now that the election has come and gone, I do not want to get into politics. However, it is vital for Christians to see the necessity of the separation of church and state. Many religious people want the United States to become like Israel of old. An examination of the New Testament leaves us with a necessary conclusion though – we will not succeed in creating a religious nation like the Israel was.

 

Genesis 12:1-3 contains the promises given to Abraham. One stated that a great nation (Israel) would be created out of his seed. They were promised a land, which was fulfilled during the time of Joshua (Josh. 23:14).  This nation of God’s people eventually had their own kings to rule over them – God was not pleased with this (I Sam. 8:4-7).

 

The ultimate purpose of these promises was revealed in the third one. Namely, someone great (Christ) would come from the seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:10-29). Our Savior was not coming to build a physical nation like Israel. As a matter of fact, Jesus fled when people tried to take Him by force to make Him their king (John 6:15).  Nor was it His plan for the church to become a government for the people.

 

Few religious people today want the church to become an earthly government for all people, but many want the government to be religiously-based like Israel’s was.  Remember, Israel was guided by the Old Law and was expected to enforce it to the letter. Those who broke that law were punished. Is this viable today?

 

On the surface, this might seem like a good thing. If all government leaders including the President were Christians, we could do away with abortions and homosexual marriages as the Bible calls for. Great! However, we could not stop there. To be consistent, we would have to enact laws to punish every kind of sin. Would we arrest those who buy and sell liquor? All those who gamble? All those who commit fornication and adultery? Would pornographers be thrown in prison? What about those who curse, dress immodestly, lie, gossip, hate, and envy – do we throw them in jail too?

 

Do not get me wrong – abortion is murder, and murder is sin (Gal. 5:21). I would like for it to stop. As a matter of fact, I want everyone to stop all sin because of the consequences (Rom. 6:23). If our government were tasked with punishing sin though, this government would not work. If we follow the idea to its logical conclusion, this government would ultimately be tasked with trying to read people’s hearts. Only God can do this (1 Sam. 16:7, Prov. 21:2 Heb. 10:30).

 

Furthermore, who would decide how to correctly interpret and apply Bible verses? The religious division around us clearly shows that a single, centralized, earthly religious organization is unworkable.

 

If a forcibly “Christian government” is not workable, then what should Christians seek in government? To start, some nations give more earthly freedoms and rights than others. As Christians, we should want people in all 195 countries around the world to be able to worship God and live lives pleasing to Him.

 

There is a purpose of government. We are to respect it just like Christ did (Matt. 22:21).  As law-abiding citizens, we can expect to generally live quiet and peaceable lives (I Tim. 2:1-2). There may be times when we will suffer for being Christians (I Pet. 4:16), but this does not mean that we should seek to overthrow the government. Let us recognize the value in keeping Christ’s church out of the government, so to speak, and instead focus on serving the Lord directly.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Chuck

 

The root of atheism

 

If the basis for creation is faith in God, the root of atheism is man wanting to be god. This may sound odd, but consider the following words found in Aldous Huxley’s article, “Confessions of a professed atheist.” Huxley says, “I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning, so I looked for reasons to assume it had none. My problem was not with the spiritual. I just concerned myself with proving there was no valid reason why I should not do as I wanted to. The philosophy of meaninglessness was an instrument of liberation. We wanted freedom from political and economic system and liberation from morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”

 

Although Huxley’s statement helped me clearly understand the mentality of an atheist, this is something Christians were already told. In Romans 1, Paul stated that man was without excuse because there was so much evidence to support God (verse 20). Moreover, those who denied the creator turned to all sorts of uncleanness and dishonored their bodies by pursuing the lusts of their hearts (verse 24). In other words, rejecting God allowed them to do whatever they wanted. They got the sexual freedom they craved (verse 26-32).

 

Darwinism, another rejection of the divine, leads to a similar outcome. Attitudes of “survival of the fittest,” “might makes right,” etc. lead to a society that rewards uncaring, selfish, self-centered behavior.

 

The outcomes of rejecting godly truth are straightforward – this only leaves us to figure out why it was rejected. Why would anyone not believe in God and His word? It is not because of the lack of evidence – it has to do with a carnal mind that wants to do whatever they want and not be held accountable. Those who live this way may be able to live this way on the earth for a little while, but everyone is going to give an account to the Lord for what they did here on earth in the end (II Cor. 5:10). Their perceived freedom will come to an end.

 

To abort babies or engage in homosexuality in the name of “freedom of choice” is foolishness. People can deny God, but they will not be able to deny His power on the last day! Remember that He is real.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                            Chuck                          

Who would do that?

 

This past week, a gentleman called me to ask me what I thought about a scenario. A man came forward in church and wanted to get baptized for the remission of his sins. The preacher knew this man was living with a woman. The man came forward, and the preacher said baptized him without a word about his situation at home. The man continued living with the woman. The caller finally asked me, “Chuck, would you have baptized this man?”

 

Let’s take a closer look at this as scenario clearly demonstrates a couple of common problems in the Lord’s church. One, the man who wanted to become a Christian did not know everything he needed to know. Two, the preacher failed to tell the man what he needed to know. When people preach baptism rather than being converted to Christ, some baptisms will result in people who merely got wet. What good is a baptism without a conversion? Nothing!

 

Too often, baptism is perceived as a “get out of jail free” card. Some people treat it as though the act of getting wet means a person’s actions no longer matter. Let me be clear - that could not be farther from the truth. Peter stated that those who want to be saved must repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). Look closely at that text. The word “and” makes repentance and baptism equally important.

 

Paul pointed out that godly sorrow leads to repentance (II Cor. 7:9-10). To repent is to turn away from sin, not go right back into it. Did this man know that fornication is still fornication whether you are baptized or not? The point of being baptized into Christ is to put off the old man of sin (Rom. 6:4-7). Only those who have godly sorrow for transgression will turn away from it. Those who do not turn away from sin have not repented. In the example scenario, this means that the man went down a dry sinner and came up a wet sinner.

 

Could this person have been baptized properly if he was sorry for all his sins (including fornication) and had no plans to return to that lifestyle?  Of course! People also sometimes get the wrong idea that when you become a Christian, the sins you were committing before baptism are no longer considered sin after conversion (meaning you can continue those same activities without penalty). Again, this reasoning is flawed. This is why there are many “Christian” couples in a unlawful marriages (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). They think that by being baptized, the marriage is now acceptable to God. His word is clear – if it was unlawful prior to being baptized, it is unlawful afterwards!

 

When someone wants to become a Christian, the teacher must make sure that they count the cost. They need to be informed of what will take place during the baptism and what God expects afterward. Without that understanding, a person was not baptized scripturally (Acts 19:1-5). Remember, the blood of Christ only washes away sins that are repented of (Rev. 1:5; Acts 22:16; Gal. 3:27).

 

Allow me to explain one more detail. When someone becomes a Christian, they have not learned everything. People often become a Christian without knowing that certain things are sinful. This should be expected! As the new Christian learns and grows, he may realize that a certain activity is sinful. Does he have to get baptized again? No – he simply needs to repent of that sin. This is exactly what Simon was told when he sinned shortly after his baptism (Acts 8:18-24).

 

Sin is always sin, and ignorance is not an excuse (Acts 17:30). Sin is washed away by a proper baptism, but activities that were sinful before baptism remain sinful after baptism. This is why baptism alone is not enough – we must grow in knowledge, recognize these things and repent of them. May we all recognize this.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Chuck

All have authority for what they do

 

Consider how fragmented the religious world is today. Do all have authority for what they do? Yes! However, most people do not have the same source of authority. It might be their own, an organization’s or even the Lord’s. As long as man rejects the need to have one source of authority, religious division will always exist.

 

Our God knew that unity would require one source of authority. Our Lord has all the authority (Matt. 28:18) and left us with His written word. Because of this, mankind must have Biblical authority for all that we do in order to be pleasing to God (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 11:6). This source of authority is being rejected by the majority of religious people today. One might wonder how this could happen when the Bible is regarded by most people as the inspired word of God. The answer is found in several forms of faulty thinking….

 

It is inspired but left to private interpretation

 

Is it possible for many people to understand the Bible in the same way? Yes! We are clearly told that the Bible is not left up to private interpretation (II Pet. 1:20-21), yet many make the claim that the Bible can be interpreted different ways (i.e. people can look at the same passage and come to different understandings). Their conclusion is that people can believe and practice different things and all still be acceptable to God. If this is true, then either God did not intend to communicate to man in a way that all could understand, or God did not expect mankind to understand the scriptures alike. In either case, why would God even speak at all then?

 

The fact is, the problem is not with the inspired word – the problem is with man. Many things can hinder people from reading and comprehending what the Lord has said. First and foremost, I again must point out that if man already thinks the Bible cannot be understood alike, then they have lost before they get started. The gospel message was written in a way that there can be only one proper conclusion (Gal. 1:6-9). Those who respect this can obtain unity in understanding (I Cor. 1:10).

 

It is inspired, but it has to make sense to me

 

Too many times in Bible discussions, I hear people read a verse and then say, “I know what is says, but…”  Notice that they recognize what the Bible says – they are instead questioning why God said that. For example, people read Ephesians 5:19 and often tell me, “Yes Chuck, we should sing spiritual songs to God. And yes, we can sing without the aid of mechanical instruments. However, I do not see why it would be wrong to use mechanical instruments in worship.” God has given them enough info to enable obedience. The problem is clearly not with God’s word – the problem is with people expecting answers to unnecessary questions.

 

Also consider Genesis 4 – Cain knew he needed to sacrifice to God. He did not think it mattered what he offered to God though (verse 1-6). No matter how extensive or well-thought out Cain’s ideas were, they do not change what God already stated. In fact, God reminded Him of exactly this (verse 7)!  Many religious people love the Bible and claim that it is inspired and understandable. Despite this, they believe they can reason through God’s word to add things not explicitly stated.

 

 

It is inspired but takes a backseat to feelings and experiences

 

This problem goes beyond our last point. It is one thing to say that the Bible is the inspired word of God. What good is belief in the Bible if our experiences and feelings are also given authority? From a Biblical standpoint, they cannot. We are clearly told that whatever we do in word or deed must be done by the authority of Jesus Christ (Col. 3:17). It does not matter if someone argues to give feelings/experience equal authority to the Bible, more authority or even less authority – Colossians 3:17 teaches that the only acceptable for of authority is that of Christ.

 

How would you react if an angel of God spoke to you? The apostle Paul said that if an angel preaches any other gospel unto you, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:8). God’s word should be the first and last word on anything. It does not matter what one feels based upon some experience. All that matters is that we go to the scriptures for doctrine, for correction, for reproof and for instruction in righteousness (II Tim. 3:16).

 

It is inspired but is not completely accurate

 

Usually when a person makes this argument, the parts of the Bible that they feel are unreliable are the things that a person does not want to accept. The obvious problem with this is that it also discredits the parts of the Bible that they deem as correct. Why? Because if parts of the Bible are untruth, then none of the Bible is trustworthy. It is either 100% right or 100% wrong.

 

Jesus used this logic in discrediting the false accusation that He healed people by the power of Beelzebub (Luke 11:15). If that be true, then Satan would be fighting against himself (verse 18). Either Jesus healed because He has the power of God, or else He cannot have power at all. It makes no sense for Him to heal people of demon possession via the power of the ruler of demons. Thus, we cannot accept parts of the Bible while at the same time rejecting other parts.

 

Every religious person claims to have authority for what they do. I agree that they all reference some sort of authority. However, most do not accept the supreme authority of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18). May we fully accept the Bible as the inspired word of God without any conditions, additions or reservations.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Chuck                                                                                                                                                                    

Respecting the Holy Spirit

 

The Bible contains some warnings regarding the Holy Spirit – there are certain things we should never do to Him. Consider these admonitions.

 

• “Do not quench the Spirit” (I Thess. 5:19)
• “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit,” (Eph. 4:30)
• “Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him” (Matt. 12:32)

 

The Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead (Rom. 1:20) and is to be recognized as God just like the Father and Son (Acts 5:3-4; Heb. 1:8-9). Each part of the Godhead plays a part in the plan of redemption. Therefore, our actions toward Him can help us get to heaven or prevent us.  We must never minimize the Holy Spirit’s role. This is why the statements above were given concerning the Spirit.

 

What role did the Spirit play in helping man get to heaven? The answer is given in John 16:13: “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”  Without the Holy Spirit coming upon the apostles as promise and in fulfilled in Acts 2:1-4, then we would not know the will of God.  We could not even go into all the world and preach the gospel so people can be saved (Mark 16:15-16).

 

Knowing all of this, we can understand why quenching, grieving or blaspheming the Spirit puts our soul in jeopardy. Those who refuse to accept the gospel message are essentially rejecting the Holy Spirit. The inspired writers of the scriptures were moved by the Holy Spirit (II Pet.1:20-21).  This is why Paul told the brethren at Rome to listen to the message – in doing so they were being led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14). They were not led in some mystical, mysterious way. It simply means when we do what the spirit revealed, we are following Him. May we always respect the Holy Spirit.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Chuck