Pssst, want to know a secret?

Do you ever wonder how Satan might convince someone to not be a member of a faithful church? Consider these arguments:

1. You do not have to answer to anyone. Well, Satan is partly right on this one. In reality, everyone answers to the Lord (II John 9). Still, when a person is not part of a faithful church, he/she does not have elders looking out for their spiritual wellbeing (I Pet. 5:1-3). They will not have members calling and checking in to see if they are okay (Gal. 6:2). Satan is right – if you are not part of the Lord’s church family, nobody will be following up with you.

2. You do not have to worship God all the time. Christians are commanded to come together as a church (I Cor. 11:17-18; Heb. 10:25). If one does not belong to a faithful congregation, he/she gets to go whenever they decide. They will also have extra cash in their pocket because they will not be financially giving as a member of the church (II Cor. 16:1-2).

3. You do not have to pray for other members or visit them when they are sick or have lost a loved one. If you do not belong to the family of God, you can be selfish and not care about the needs of those around you. Members of the church, on the other hand, care for one another (I Cor. 12:12-25; Rom. 12:15). Remember, Satan wants to convince you that your troubles are so great you cannot help others with their burdens.

4. You do not have to worry about church discipline. Here again, Satan is partly right. If a member of a faithful church wants to listen to Satan on the first three points, a local church is required to purge out the leaven (I Cor. 5:1-7). This is done to help bring the fallen back. A person who does not repent and rejoin the church logically cannot be withdrawn from again. Satan knows this and wants the fallen to find comfort in avoiding earthly discipline. Like children running away to avoid punishment, some will even avoid becoming a member of a local church just to prevent that from ever happening.

5. You do not have to feel guilty about sin. The devil knows that there is less and less guilt as one’s conscience becomes seared (I Tim. 4:2). A person who avoids a faithful church will become more and more comfortable with sin – just as Satan wants.

6. You do not have to evangelize. If someone does not attend a faithful church, than the effectiveness of their evangelism is greatly diminished. Perhaps even more important to Satan, they likely will not bother with evangelism anymore. On the other hand, the faithful Christian is always thinking of ways to encourage people to become part of Christ’s church (Matt. 16:18; Col. 1:18; Mark 16:15-16).

7. You do not have to pledge your allegiance to Satan or the Lord. Anyone who does not confess Christ will be denied (Matt. 10:32-33). However, Satan’s followers do not have to say that they follow him. Satan’s follows are being loyal to him by just by not following the Lord! As Satan knows, we can belong to him whether we intentionally follow him or not!

We all need to make sure we are not following the god of this world (II Cor. 4:4). Do you really want to be influenced by the one who has a lake of fire awaiting him (Rev. 20:10). “Pssst, hey, do not listen to Satan!”

                                                                                               Chuck

How do we do that?

Jesus was very much concerned that His followers not cause each other to stumble. “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea,” (Matt. 18:6). Knowing this, we need to make sure we are aware of what not to do, so we do not cause a fellow Christian to stumble.  Here is a short list:

1. Encouraging brethren to do anything that is against their conscience (Rom. 14:20-21).

2. Provoking brethren to anger instead of love (Heb. 10:24).

3. Considering certain members as less important (I Cor. 12:23).

4. Teaching things contrary to the gospel (II Pet. 2:1-2).

5. Playing the hypocrite (I Tim. 4:20.

6. Speaking things that are destructive rather than edifying (Eph. 4:29).

7. Only thinking of self (Rom. 15:1-2).

8. Rebuking a brother while you are walking in sin (Matt. 7:1-4).

9. Acting as if you are the head of the church (III Jn. 9-10).

10. Taking on the role of an elder, deacon or evangelist when not qualified (I Tim. 3:1-13; II Tim. 4:1-5).

11. Not helping to bear the burdens of your brethren (Gal. 6:2).

As we enter 2017, let us all focus on building up our fellow Christians (1 Thess. 5:11). Satan’s attacks have not slowed (1 Pet. 5:8), but our Lord remains in control (Heb. 1:8).

                                                                                              Chuck

Let’s think this through

How many times have we requested, “If we are wrong, please show us?” I bring this up is because we recently heard a person who viewed an episode of our TV program on YouTube. He is what he wrote:
 

“You don’t treat facts the same way we run our justice system. Something that is said is not a fact until proven wrong, something becomes fact when it is proven right. So your entire basis is backwards. A talking serpent has never been seen or observed, ever. No person has ever been seen capable of parting water. You are believing what you chose to believe, and I feel terrible for the children in the room you are brainwashing.”

Those who believe they have the truth should never be afraid or get upset when challenged. With that in mind, let’s examine the comment we received. It is important to read carefully to avoid misunderstanding what was written. Too often people disagree with something that was not said. As this article proceeds, please reread the submitted comment a few times to keep it fresh in your mind.

Let us first address the statement that “A talking serpent has never been seen or observed.” We read in Genesis 3:1-4 that Eve saw and observed the talking serpent. On this point, a person will either accept the Bible as fact or reject it. The same goes with the parting of the waters. In Exodus 14:21-22, there were plenty of people that saw the parted waters. Even those who did not believe in the God of heaven (the Egyptian army), were also witnesses of what Moses did (verse 23).

Now let’s turn our attention to his statement concerning our justice system. He declared, “Something that is said is not fact until proven wrong, something becomes fact when it is proven right.”  He then indicates that eyewitness accounts are the burden of proof to prove something true. However, courts use circumstantial evidence all the time. If no one was an eyewitness, does that mean no one could ever be convicted of a crime? Of course they can. If there is overwhelming evidence that a person committed a crime, the charge is considered true.

Moreover, people accept things that have not been explicitly demonstrated all the time in their daily lives. For example, if I say I had a hamburger for lunch, the statement is accepted as truth until it is proven that I lied. Would this man accept that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet? No eyewitnesses are alive today. We accept this fact based on Shakespeare’s own claim and written historical records. Christians do the same thing regarding the Bible.

I do take exception to the final claim that I am brainwashing people. That would be true if I told people to believe whatever I said without checking it out (Acts 17:11). It would be true if I asked people to believe things that did not work logically. The argument given in response to the TV program was very thin, and yet the final claim (brainwashing) is very strong. At a minimum, making flimsy claims like that is no better than the brainwashing he accused me of!

It is true that we walk by faith (II Cor. 5:7). But this is not blind faith. It’s actually the opposite – our faith is based on evidence (facts). Hebrews 11:1 states that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We did not have to be present during the days of creation to know that God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1).  I did not have to be present when man made the pyramids to state that they were manmade. Some people are very quick to dismiss the beliefs of Christians, yet they believe many things about this universe with far less evidence. If someone is going to convince me that I am wrong, I will need more than a statement saying I am!

                                                                                                                                                Chuck

What MUST change in the new year

The first article discussed how God has consistently expected certain things from Christians since the faith began. If we remain constant in those matters, then we will see some positive changes in our spiritual lives. Here is a list of what should change from year to year:

1. Your faith will get stronger (II Thess. 1:3).

2. Your bond with brethren will get stronger (Rom. 12:10).

3. Your efforts to help the lost will increase (Acts 8:4).

4. Your relationship with the Lord will grow (Phil. 3:8).

5. Your joy in being a Christian will increase (I Pet. 4:13).

6. Your prayers will multiply (I Thess. 5:17).

7. Your abilities will grow as you do more in the church (Phil. 2:12).

8. Your selflessness will increase as you help others more (Gal. 6:10).

9. Your patience will grow as you continue to resist temptation (James 1:2-3).

10. Your knowledge will increase as you defend the truth more (I Pet. 3:15).

11. Your spiritual endurance will increase as you consistently live your faith (Heb. 12:28).

The more Christians positively change, the more the church remains the same. May we all seek to please the Lord by improving on these things in 2017!

                                                                                              Chuck                                                                                                                                                                    

What happens if you do not love it?

I cannot help but recall what Matt mentioned in his invitation last week. Although his lesson was about dealing with the mishaps that come our way in life, he mentioned about getting up at 4 in the morning to go duck hunting. Who does that? Only people who like to hunt. Who stands in line all night to get tickets to see a movie premiere? Who sits in a boat fishing while it rains or plays golf when the temperature is frigid? In every case, the person who is willing to endure those things loves the activity.

Those who love doing those things are sacrificing sleep, the comforts of home and a warm bed. For the most part, they do not complain about what they are doing. Most importantly, they do not consider the things they give up to be a sacrifice. So what if they are wet and tired – they get to do the thing that they love.

Compare the love of these activities to those who attend worship (Heb. 10:25). For the most part, we are protected from the weather. We travel in warm vehicles and sit in a warm building. We get to spend time with our spiritual family (I Cor. 12:12). We experience the joy of fellowship by praying, singing, giving, studying and taking the Lord’s supper.

But what happens when the love for the Lord is gone? What happens when worshipping God is something you could take or leave? It means all those things become a hardship. It is like taking someone fishing who does not like it. The weather is a bother. Getting up early is a bother. Driving to the lake is a bother. Even the event itself is unappealing. At every point of the process, they would rather be somewhere else.

The brethren at Ephesus were told that they lost their first love (Rev. 2:4). Jesus came right out and said that they had fallen because of this (verse 5). This was said even though they were still doing right things (verse 2-3).  Let this be a warning lest we also fall (I Cor. 10:12).

                                                                                              Chuck