Sunday, July 24, 2016
GodsView : Christian Duty in a Pagan Culture!
GodsView : Christian Duty in a Pagan Culture!: Over a quarter of a century ago the late apologist and Christian thinker Francis Schaeffer asked the question, "How should we then l...
Christian Duty in a Pagan Culture!
Society has taken a nosedive into greater and greater evil, debauchery, violence, and corruption, and outside the church, the landscape seems filled with "modern barbarians." The temptation is strong for believers to jump into the cultural fray as self-righteous social/political reformers and condescending moralizers. All the while those self-styled Christian activists forget or ignore their true mission in the world and completely miss the answer to Schaeffer's question — an answer that God's Word spells out quite clearly.
As noble as a desire to reform society may be, and as stirring as the emotions sometimes are when involved in the "rightness" of a political cause, those activities are not to be the Christian's chief priorities. God does not call the church to influence the culture by promoting legislation and court rulings that advance a Scripture point of view. Nor does He condone any type of radical activism that would avoid tax obligations, disobey or seek removal of government officials we don't agree with, or spend an inordinate amount of time campaigning for a so-called Christian slate of candidates.
The church will really change society for the better only when individual believers make their chief concern their own spiritual maturity, which means living in a way that honors God's commands and glorifies His name. Such a concern inherently includes a firm grasp on Scripture and an understanding that its primary mandate to us is to know Christ and proclaim His gospel. A godly attitude coupled with godly living makes the saving message of the gospel credible to the unsaved. If we claim to be saved but still convey proud, unloving attitudes toward the lost, our preaching and teaching — no matter how doctrinally orthodox or politically savvy and persuasive — will be ignored or rejected.
The New Testament is very clear about how we ought to embrace and live out our primary mission in a pagan society. One such example is in Titus 3:
Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. (vv. 1-2)Notice that Paul simply followed the Lord's model and did not expend time and energy admonishing believers on how to reform pagan culture's idolatrous, immoral, and corrupt practices. The apostle also did not call for believers to exercise civil disobedience to protest the Roman Empire's unjust laws or cruel punishments. Instead, his appeal was for Christians to proclaim the gospel and live lives that would give clear evidence of its transforming power.
Believe it or not, Christians have obligations to a pagan society. When you live as God wants you to in an unbelieving culture, the Holy Spirit uses your life to draw the sinner by softening his attitude toward God (cf. 1 Peter 2:12).
Submission and Obedience The first two duties — submission to government and obedience to all human authority — I've combined under one heading because they are so closely related. They are just one more reminder that Christians have certain requirements of attitude and conduct in relation to their secular leaders. Those reminders reiterate the idea that believers are not exempt from following civil laws and directives, unless such orders contradict the Word and will of God (see Acts 4:18-20; 5:40-42). That twofold prompting also gives us the scriptural premise from which all our other public actions ought to flow.
Readiness for Good Works Our third major duty toward society is to have a readiness "for every good deed." Here the apostle Paul is not referring to some minimal, reluctant adherence to doing what we already know is right, but to a sincere willingness and heart preparation to do good works to everyone, as we have the opportunity. No matter how antagonistic the people around us may be, we are to be kind servants to them when their lives intersect with ours. "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith" (Galatians 6:10).
God wants us to be recognized for what we might call "consistent and aggressive goodness" — good deeds done out of love for the Lord and love for other people.
Respectful in Speech Next, we have the scriptural duty of not maligning anyone, not even those unbelievers who are most antagonistic toward biblical standards. Titus 3:2 begins with Paul's command "to malign no one," and refers to cursing, slandering, and treating with contempt. In fact the Greek term rendered "malign" is the one from which we derive the English word blasphemy. We can never use such speech with a righteous motive.
It is sad that many believers today speak scornfully of politicians and other public figures. When they do that, they actually manifest a basic disregard of their responsibility toward authority and hinder God's redemptive plan. In another of Paul's pastoral letters, he urges us to pray for everyone's salvation, even for that of those who occupy official positions of authority (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Peaceful and Gentle Paul goes on in verse 2 to mention two more Christian duties. First, he reminds us that we must be friendly and peaceful toward the lost, not belligerent and quarrelsome. In the ungodly, postmodern world we live in, it's easy to condemn those who contribute to the culture's demise and write them off as corrupt sinners who will never change. If God's love for the world was so broad and intense that His Son died for a multitude of sinners (John 3:16), how can we who have received that redeeming grace be harsh and unloving toward those who have not yet received it? Until God is pleased to save an individual, he or she is going to behave like an unbeliever, and it is wrong for us, meanwhile, to treat them contemptuously for acting according to their nature.
Secondly, Paul reminds us that we must be "gentle," a word in the Greek that means being fair, moderate, and forbearing toward others. Some have translated this term "sweet reasonableness," a definition denoting an attitude that does not hold grudges but gives others the benefit of the doubt.
Consideration for Others
The final duty in the apostle Paul's list of reminders to believers is that they should be "showing every consideration for all men" (v. 2). The word rendered "consideration" always has a New Testament meaning of genuine concern for others.
Scripture clearly describes Jesus as the One supremely characterized by humility, or consideration for everyone — the same trait that should identify His followers. Jesus used the word to depict Himself when He told His followers, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29, emphasis added).
All our dealings with unbelievers should display that kind of attitude, as the apostle Peter also wrote: "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15). Sincere, heartfelt consideration to all men is foundational for our Christian walk in a pagan society.
Our duty as we relate to an increasingly secular and ungodly culture is not to lobby for certain rights, the implementation of a Christian agenda, or the reformation of the government. Rather, God would have us continually to remember Paul's instructions to Titus and live them out as we seek to demonstrate His power and grace that can regenerate sinners. Changing people's hearts one individual at a time is the only way to bring meaningful, lasting change to our communities, our nation, and even the whole world.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
GodsView : The Courage to Stand!
GodsView : The Courage to Stand!: Not too long ago, I read that violence on television is at an all-time high. Then, of course, there is all the sexual perversion that is...
The Courage to Stand!
In addition to all that, it seems like people are going out of their way to get God out of our culture. Not only do they want to elevate perversion, but they want to demote God. They want Him out of the picture — out of everything, for that matter.
This can be very discouraging to us as Christians. We can be tempted to think, Well, really there is no hope. There is nothing the church can do and there is certainly nothing that I can do.
But I want you to know that is simply not true. In 1 Kings 17, we find the story of one man who lived at a time in Israel’s history that closely parallels our world today.
Elijah lived during one of the darkest and most evil times in the history of Israel. It reminds us that when God is abandoned, moral breakdown will always follow. That is because you cannot have morality without spirituality. And you can’t have real morality without a relationship with the living God.
That is what happened to Israel. They had pushed God out of their culture. It is not that they didn’t believe in God any more. But they elevated other gods to an equal level as they engaged in open idolatry.
For more than 100 years, Israel had lived under the reign of three kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. Each had their flaws, some more than others.
At the end of Solomon’s reign, a civil war broke out, and Israel was divided into northern and southern kingdoms. Israel had become progressively more and more wicked when King Ahab emerged, who was the most sinful of all.
His wife Jezebel was even more wicked than him in many ways. She was effectively the power behind the throne. She was also a full-tilt idol worshipper, and soon the nation was turning to idolatry too. Of the thousands who were under Ahab’s reign, there were only 7,000 who had not bowed their knee to the false god of Baal.
It was into this wicked moral climate that God’s man, Elijah, burst on the scene: “Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, ‘As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives — the God I serve — there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!’ ” (1 Kings 17:1 NLT).
Elijah threw down a gauntlet that challenged the very nerve center of the country and the people: he declared a drought.
How was he able to take such a bold step? Because he knew God. Elijah, in contrast to Ahab and Jezebel and most of Israel at this point, served a living God — not a dead one. Elijah recognized that wherever he was, he was in the presence of God.
Second, Elijah was a man of prayer. James 5:17 tells us, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months” (NKJV). It was Elijah’s prayer in private that was the source of his power in public.
Third, Elijah faithfully delivered the message. And it was not an easy message God had given him to deliver. He wasn’t even able to offer any hope. But Elijah delivered God’s message, and he delivered it in its entirety.
Lastly, Elijah was a man of faith and obedience. He faithfully delivered the message to Ahab and Jezebel, but then God told him to go disappear. So for three years, Elijah disappeared into obscurity. God would eventually use him to challenge the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, but the Lord had to first do some work on the prophet’s heart. He wasn’t ready yet.
Maybe you are in a place right now where the Lord is telling you to step forward, or maybe He is telling you to step back. Perhaps He is telling you to speak up, or He might be telling you to be quiet and just obey.
May God help us to be like Elijah — not a perfect person or a flawless person, but a godly person. And may God use us to be people who will affect our generation — people who will make a difference.
Monday, July 11, 2016
GodsView : Bring Back the Glory!
GodsView : Bring Back the Glory!: As we think about the birth of our nation this month, it may surprise you to know that as nations the United States and Israel actually ...
Bring Back the Glory!
If you look at Israel in the book of Judges, you’ll see some of those parallels. Judges is a sad book, yet one that holds out hope. God had blessed the nation Israel, then Israel lost the glorious heritage she had.
Glorious Conquest
God had done miracles for them. By His power, the Hebrews had broken the tormenting bonds of slavery, come out of Egypt, and enjoyed His supernatural provision for 40 years in the wilderness. What followed for Israel were days of glorious conquest under Joshua as God gave them a promised land flowing with milk and honey—and with it the liberty and freedom to worship Him. By the time of King Solomon’s reign, Israel had become a jewel among nations. “So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.” (1 Kings 10:23).
Likewise, for America, God has given us a land, freeing the 13 colonies under British rule and blessing this nation with liberty to worship and prosperity like no other in the modern era.
Some revisionists today, however, are rewriting history to remove our Christian heritage. But they cannot do it. Patrick Henry, who gave the impassioned “Give me liberty or give me death!" speech, is the same Patrick Henry who said,
"It cannot be emphasized too much or repeated too strongly that America was founded not by religionists, but by Christians. Not upon religions, but upon the gospel of Jesus Christ."
George Washington, our first President, took his oath of office with his hand upon the Bible, then leaned down and kissed the pages of God's Word. His first official act was to take the entire Congress to church, staying for a two-hour worship service. Washington said,
“No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."
In plain English, God did it. God established America. These were days of glorious conquest. Some don't want us to remember that.
Gradual Compromise
Then for Israel came days of gradual compromise. God had given Himself to the nation. They had a Lord, Jehovah. They had a land, Canaan. And they had a law—His commandments.
But Israel soon failed to appreciate their miracles, their heritage, and their blessings. They denied their Lord. They defied His law. And they defiled the land, even erecting altars to false gods.
As long as the generation under Joshua who had seen God move in glorious ways remained alive, the people served God. “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that He did for Israel” (Judges 2:7). But as soon as the generation who had seen God’s wilderness provision and miracles died, the nation began to forget God. Those who witnessed Joshua’s conquest of Canaan—they were now gone too. God had given them victory and a glorious heritage, but they forgot that heritage, and he had to bring judgment to the people who had been so blessed (Judges 2:1-4 and 10).
That’s so like America! Such a striking parallel. Friend, we're living in that generation today who does not understand the history of the miracles God worked for America. We’ve gone through a cultural revolution that started in the sixties, and now we're reaping the bitter fruit of that revolution.
No nation ever had such a Christian beginning as America. I say it with a broken heart, America has forgotten God. Yes, we still have religion, we still have culture, but all of that is the formaldehyde, the sickening perfume that disguises the deadliness and decay in our land today. Unless something happens, a historian will one day write The Rise and Fall of the American Empire.
In Judges we learn that in Israel at this time there was no fixed standard of right and wrong. "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6). Those days have come to America, aided and abetted by our educators and college professors. The 65% of Americans who believed the Bible was the authentic word of God in 1960, by 1992 had fallen to 32%. Today it is far less. That’s where we are today—in a serious situation where there's no fixed standard of right and wrong.
Isaiah described today very much like our day. “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).
What's that like in America today? Well, there are certain Canaanites we don't seem to be able to deal with. Drugs, crime, immorality, sexual perversion. Children live up to the expectations that we have to them, and we should be encouraging them to remain pure and live a righteous life. Our kids are falling off a cliff, and we're running ambulances to the bottom of the cliff. We need some people today who will build some at the top to help these kids, to tell them what is right and what is wrong, that sin will take you further than you want to go, it'll keep you longer than you want to stay and it will cost you more than you want to pay.
Grim Consequences
Thirdly, there were grim consequences. For Israel, there came that time when God, who had been their protector, going before them in battle, finally said, “Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept” (Judges 2:3-4). God said, “I'm not going to protect you anymore.”
God has protected America in the past. We have sung, “Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light. Protect us by Thy might, great God our King.” But America has lost her protection. Militarily we are weakened now. We don't know what to do. Few of us have any confidence in our foreign policy. The scream of the great American eagle has become the twitter of a frightened sparrow. We're in a battle today, not of bullets and bombs, but ideas and morals. We don't know what's going to happen next.
In the past 30 years, our divorce rate has quadrupled. Teen suicides have doubled and violent crime has increased more than 500%. More than 1/3 of all births in this nation are to women without husbands. In the inner city, the rate of illegitimacy is as high as eighty percent. Violent crime in America costs us in excess of $100 billion dollars a year. We have diseases that are running rampant. Fifty-six million Americans suffer from some sort of venereal disease. Yet in America the government is spending $160 million dollars each year to teach kids how to use condoms. And that same money is used to attack abstinence-based education, calling it “fear and shame-based curriculum.” They say it distorts the facts and hides the truth. The truth is that sex outside marriage is dangerous and often deadly. Promiscuity leads to divorce, disease, abortion, broken families and lives of misery and despair.
We've taken the Bible out of the schools. In 1980 they said you can't post the Ten Commandments on classroom walls—it might be dangerous to some child who would read it. Yet James Madison said,
“We've staked the entire future of the American civilization on the right, the ability of each of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.
Dire consequences have happened in America today. We are in trouble militarily, culturally, and in our families. Why are we seeing all of this? One simple reason: the God who has protected us has withdrawn His protection, saying, “You say you want to do it without Me…go ahead. It's yours.”
You see, the reason we’ve been so blessed is that God has protected this nation. Do you understand that? Now, God doesn't have to judge us, He just has to let us have our own way. We judge ourselves. God says, “You want to do it without Me. You say there's no fixed standard of right and wrong and you're smarter than I am. ‘Every man does that which is right in his own eyes.’ You don't want Me. Alright, you've got it.”
We have forgotten God. We need to bring back the glory.
Now let me give you the good news: Judges 2:16. I love the first word of this verse:
“Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.”
Nevertheless, God had rather forgive than judge. God had rather save than condemn. Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save the world. (John 3:17). The word “judge” literally comes from a root word which means “to save or to rescue.”
There is hope for America. As Bible believers, we must quit the idea that there's no hope for America. There is hope for America. The book of Judges shows how in the history of God's ancient people He sent deliverers, men of God, to rally the people to the Word of God, to repentance and faith. God brought restoration and forgiveness. The God who did that for Israel so long ago can do t for America today. God has sent revival in times past in dark days.
Americans need to say to Jesus, “Lord, You're the one who gave us liberty and Lord, we're going with You.”
Father, I pray that you'll bring back the glory to America. Lord, forgive us for keeping company with Canaanites. Lord help us as the people of God to love you and to hold up the standard. In Jesus' wonderful name. Amen.
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
GodsView : When It Comes to Truth, Tolerance Is a Travesty
GodsView : When It Comes to Truth, Tolerance Is a Travesty: Q: Why are Christians so judgmental and unloving? A: Because we live in an age of tolerance where almost anything goes, openly question...
When It Comes to Truth, Tolerance Is a Travesty
A: Because we live in an age of tolerance where almost anything goes, openly questioning or criticizing other people's belief systems can quickly get you labeled as judgmental, narrow-minded, bigoted, hateful, and even ignorant. With regard to Christianity, Matthew 7:1 is often quoted (or should I say "misquoted") as discouraging Christians from putting other religious teachings and practices to the test: "Judge not, that ye be not judged."
This interpretation of Scripture, however, is simply mistaken. The Bible clearly speaks out not against passing judgment in general, but against rendering inaccurate and unfair judgments (John 7:24). In 1 Corinthians 2:15 Paul tells us that Christians are called to make "judgments about all things." Our judgment, though, should not be based on what God has not revealed; but rather, on what He has revealed (v. 13).
God's revealed Word, the Bible, tells us that Jesus Christ is the only way we can possibly reach God and that there's no alternate route (Acts 4:12). It stands to reason, therefore, that other beliefs offering alleged alternate pathways to God only lead to dead-ends. And if we as Christians really want to follow our Lord's teaching to love our neighbors, we can't escape our responsibility to warn them about spiritually destructive roads paved by non-Christian belief systems (Prov. 14:12). True love and compassion should move believers to sound warning cries, even in the face of opposition, to avert countless lives from heading toward eternal separation from God.
Let's realize that when we call teachings into question, it's only because we're concerned about the eternal destinies of people. Let's also keep in mind that Scripture doesn't command us to simply rail against false teachings; rather, it encourages us to offer biblical reasons with gentleness and respect (1 Pet. 3:15). Always remember that when it comes to personal relationships, tolerance is a virtue; but when it comes to truth, tolerance is a travesty.
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