Pondering Our Times

We still have the promises of God intact. We can, perhaps, be as thankful for 1 Timothy 2:1-3 as we should have been all of our lives. Why do Christians expect more than that in this world?

We still have tolerance for religious freedom. How has it ever been more than tolerance for idolatry?

We still have the truth about sexual expression in a holy way. Why do Christians obsess over one form of sexual sin and virtually ignore fornication and adultery?

We still have the right to marry as Christians and to pursue Christian marriage. Why do Christians expect the godless to desire that for themselves?

We still have the Godly teaching about marriage. Why do Christians think a secular government could ever define what is right in God's eyes?

We still live as citizens in the richest, most powerful and prosperous country the world has ever known. Why do Christians think materialism and the pursuit of pleasure is not a temptation?

We still have the truth about good and evil. Why do Christians expect that evil will not touch them in this mortal life?

We still have the truth about the faith of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Why do Christians expect current Americans to care what primitive people in the past thought?

We still have the Kingdom of Heaven, available right now spiritually, and soon materially. Why are Christians outraged that Bible prophecy is accurate?

Let's first seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, and the food and clothing will be added to us. Why do Christians deem themselves entitled to more?

Another Site for Thinkers

There are at least 1,650 years between the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth and the Flood of Noah. What would life be like during this time? "Quest Before the Flood" is a series of adventures that take place mid-way between Creation and the Flood. Many would consider the stories to be fantasy; I consider them to be historical ficiton. Either way, they are very good reads, and Book One is FREE!

At this time the books in the series are only offered in the "Ebook" format. You can read them on computer, E-reader, and most cell phones with a screen.

Did I mention that Book One is FREE?

Check out questbeforetheflood.com

You will find the site to be rich in information, with descriptions of each book, a blog, links, and curriculum also available.

If you like them, please let your friends know. Use face-to-face, Facebook, and Twitter.

With lifespans of over 900 years you get some rather remarkable characters...

When Swine Attack: A Primer on Media Swine-bite

“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn and attack you.”  Matthew 7:6

There are more than a few differing worldviews in the United States, and they may be categorized in many ways. One broad and accurate way to view them is that they are either godly or godless. These two simple categories have been relevant to faithful people for a very long time.

“It was about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him’.”  Jude :14, 15

It is unlikely that sincere protests of “But I wanted to be godly,” or “But I am confident that I am godly,” will carry much weight with our Creator on the Day of Judgment. Human sincerity and confidence do not trump God’s own opinion. God is judge, and the judge decides what qualifies as ‘godly’ and ‘ungodly’.

Therefore, religious people who fall short of holy worship of the Lord Jesus Christ are justly in the category of ‘ungodly’. This includes not only those who are atheist, but those of many groups who will consider themselves ‘godly’. God makes those distinctions, not us. My intent in drawing this distinction is not to justify myself or to cast aspersions on others. My intent is to take any beam or speck out of my own eye and to encourage those who see and hear spiritually to take a moment to do the same.

To get to the point, how do godly people interact with ungodly media? Reporters and social media pundits (great and small), gather information (sometimes by interview and sometimes by ambush), report only what they want to report, the way they want to spin it, and publish their opinion as if they are the judge of reality. Often times they do so for money or personal publicity. There is no way to stop ungodly attacks in a sinful world. Swine will attack, and we have been warned.

What annoys me to the point of blogging about it; is that a lot of people demand that Christians in prominent leadership roles take every possible opportunity to condemn sinful behavior publicly, in bold terms, through interactions with godless media people that cannot possibly fail to attack the Christian. When ‘Christian’ critics join the swine in the attack on other Christians, as if it is their business, then I think we should be appalled.

Spiritual wounds are real, and swine-bite causes the same damage whether it comes from the ungodly or the godly who are sinning. To join in the swine feeding frenzy in the name of Christ is appalling.

Perhaps some reminders could be useful. Unless people are born of the Spirit (John 3:3, 5) they cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God. They don’t see it and they don’t care. It is the most disastrous of all possible expressions of ignorance and apathy. It is also incredibly shallow for Christians to disregard this reality. Why should the ungodly care about what God has said?

“The natural person (ungodly) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” Romans 8:7

How then, can a Christian believe what God has said, and then give objective credence to the ungodly media when they write about Christian things? Do we want to be dominated by the world, or be free of it? Do we want to think for ourselves or have a mob mentality sweep us up on the path of grumbling and complaining (Jude :16, Philippians 2:14, 15)?

But some may conclude that they are God’s own bold warriors, needing to take a loud moral stand where the influential Christian leaders and influential Christian organizations have, in the warrior's own sincere opinion, failed to be faithful. The result can be public condemnation of Christian people, misrepresented by godless media (or sinning fellow Christians), and all in the name of Christ?!! Condemning Westboro-esque tactics, it is still possible to be at a lesser degree on the same sliding scale.

Does this passage matter? “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’.” Matthew 25:40

Did our Lord take every opportunity to condemn cultural sin in bold confrontation?

“But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” John 2:24, 25

“This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Matthew 13:13

Perhaps the Christian cultural warrior should speak their own words boldly to the ungodly world that cannot understand; that will (!) conclude that they are fools, and then the warrior can bear their own consequences. Perhaps the Christian cultural warrior should live their own idealistic theories about improving a godless culture through a condemnation that their godless culture cannot accept, and will not accept. Perhaps the Christian cultural warrior should keep their fangs and tusks off of the lives of fellow Christians.

Perhaps Christians ought to face their own appointments with opposition or persecution and not help the godless to throw the godly under the lions.

Lead people to Christ individually, for each is born again, one at a time. Our Lord wants our participation in reconciliation. Recognize the spiritual kingdom that is (John 18:36, 37), and stop thinking we can dominate an evil culture. Jesus, Himself, will dominate the world in His own time. And He doesn’t need our help for that.

The President, Angry Mobs and We

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment…Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience… Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1, 2, 5, 7

President Obama is my President, and I owe him respect and honor. I am an Independent voter and did not vote for him. I disagree with many of his decisions. I know for certain that I am not capable of knowing all the complications of the issues that he must weigh; he is the President and I am not. I know for certain that I am not capable of knowing how to judge his motives and character, and that God reserves that kind of judgment for Himself. If I decide that I will judge President Obama anyway, then God says I am resisting what He has appointed and will incur judgment, in the context of God’s wrath.

There is no possible way that I, or any Christian, can condemn our President by name and not quench the influence of the Holy Spirit while doing so. Showing dishonor and disrespect for any President is ungodly, it is sin.  It dishonors the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Showing dishonor and disrespect to our President by name is not ungodly because he is our President; it is ungodly because Christians are not to show dishonor and disrespect to anyone! Christians can, and should, turn their backs upon personal attacks against anyone. Stop the slander! Stop the gossip! And also seek to stop other ungodly things.

What hypocrisy if I, or any other Christian, engage in ungodly words to condemn others when God makes it plain that the others are not my business, but His? Shall I, or any other Christian, engage in ungodly condemnation in the name of God; as if He is leading me to do so? Is that not dishonoring our Lord Jesus Christ? Will He ignore it? Will there be no consequences?

Obviously, I am raising an alarm about godless and slanderous words. This is a poor time to let the godless American legal system define what God means when He calls something “slander” (“railing”, “reviling”). Are we seeking to be godly through Jesus Christ? Are we seeking to see reality through His point of view? Aren’t we cautious about accepting a godless worldview?

The Constitution gives you both freedom of speech and the right to privacy. As far as rights from a godless government, they are pretty good things. But godlessness allows us to be free in our slander and grants us the right to sneak. I think the Constitution of the United States is a remarkable document, but it is not equal or superior to the Words of God.

When we feel the need to share our opinions we can do so without attacking individuals. If we do not know how to do so, then we can keep our opinions to ourselves until we can learn to express ourselves in a Christian way. Christians care about how they express themselves.

For example: I think human life begins at conception. I think killing almost 60 million children through abortion is ten times as bad as the holocaust. I think there will be Divine consequences to that upon my nation and that there is nothing that can be done to prevent it. And I live in this country. I think the same godless worldview has killed hundreds of millions of people created in God’s image all around the world. There are now unavoidable consequences to that, and I live on this world. I do not think either American political party has addressed this issue of murder in a godly way. And I doubt that any Christian I know would attempt to defend the godliness of their preferred political party.  I can express my outrage without returning evil for evil by disrespecting, dishonoring and condemning a person by name.

I will not, and we should not, express moral outrage the way the godless news media express their disrespectful and dishonoring opinions against individuals, personally, by name. It is godless. I understand they do not have the eyes and ears to see and hear God’s point of view. As a result, the only option the godless have is godlessness.

Please think it through. Please pray it through. Please recognize the Mob Mentality of angry people and don’t add fuel to the fire. And consider praying for your President who is supposed to lead the angry mobs to prosperity.

An individual’s ONLY solution to the problems of evil comes through an INDIVIDUAL and SPIRITUAL conversion to righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.

The ONLY solution to the problems of evil in the PHYSICAL world is the personal return of Jesus Christ.

It is my hope that I have not offended you with my words. To the best of my ability I have tried to be gentle and accurate. Please read my words that way. I am not your judge, I know that. May God bless you as you seek Him. 

My Perspective on Foreknowledge, Predestination, Election and Freewill.

I am not a Calvinist. I am not an Arminian. I am not of Cephas, or Apollos or Spurgeon. I want to be of Christ. The rest of them are dead white European males. God is their judge, not me. They may all be greater than me at the judgment. I can learn from any of them. Frankly, all of them can also learn from all of you.

I am not going to write Bible Study notes. I’m going to “dumb-this-down” so I can proof-read it. Most of you will see where I am coming from and will know what passages I am referring to. My confidence is in the Bible. If you want to ask where such-and-such can be found, then do so. There are many, many folks here that can point it out.

Let me begin by analogy on a topic that I think you will be able to easily agree upon, and then apply the same objectivity to the topics of the title. Note that I have a desire to affect “what you think” and “how you think it”. It might occur to you that the Holy Spirit does the same thing to people all the time.

There is one God. The Father is God, the Son (Word) is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Their identical commonalities far outnumber their differences. The only reason we know there are any differences at all is because God Himself has pointed them out. God is One! It is a mistake to assume or conclude that any differences between Father, Son, and Spirit are significant enough to detract from their unity of being One.

Here is where I apply the analogy to the topics of the title. God has infinite foreknowledge. I think He predestines the route of every photon and the rotation of every electron around every nucleus. I think God knew who would be His before He created everything and decided to do the whole “creation-thing”. I think God has limited freewill. He limits Himself. He won’t lie, He won’t sin. Here is the crux of the matter: All of these attributes of God are primarily ONE. They work together, seamlessly. They are all continually in operation. I think it is a mistake to consider the consequences of one attribute “down-the-line” without considering the rest of the Divine attributes that God has revealed about Himself (like justice, mercy, forgiveness, love and judgment). The understanding of one attribute is enhanced by the way said-attribute is affected by other attributes.

So here is what went down, in my opinion. God decided to create people in His own (spiritual) image, give them limited free will, and then hold them accountable for what they choose. He considered every possible detail of what would happen forever, and then decided to act. The sequence of events have reached this hour; and here we are.

A person has limited freedom to choose. A person (we) can only think about one thing at a time and we are therefore not free to think of many things at the same time. There are virtually infinite numbers of things we could think about (and choose), but we are limited in our ability to do so. We are prevented from thinking of thoughts that never occur to us. Further, (squirrel) we are subject to distractions (scratch nose), and habitual reactions (knee jerks), and to the interference of our thought process by having others put thoughts into our heads. Which, I have been doing for some paragraphs.

Further, I can interfere with your thoughts and freedom to choose and vice-versa. Further, God can interfere with your thoughts and freedom to choose. Freedom of choice is real, but also micro-nebulous. Culpability for our choices is real, and requires an omniscient God to sort it all out.

Frankly, no one has any chance of seeing spiritual truth and repenting, unless God intervenes. How can we assume that we can put thoughts into anyone’s head and influence them (!) but the omnipresent Spirit of God can’t do so or won’t do so? We aren’t even capable of keeping track of all the influences that continually alter our thought direction. God can and does influence people all the time, both lost people and saved people.

Important point: I think that God makes the time to see to it that every person has the freedom to choose to humble himself before God in such a way that God can be just when He holds them accountable for what they choose come judgment day.

Summary: (Some will read this, skip the above, and miss the point)

Foreknowledge, predestination, election and freewill are best understood in the whole.

Foreknowledge is knowing the future in infinite detail, including what everyone will think and what they will choose, including how God, Himself, will influence such thoughts and choices.

Predestination is the certainty that it will unfold the way God has chosen, even while God protects and enables the right of all individuals to make a morally culpable choice (or series of choices) for which He can justly hold them accountable. These instances of “limited freewill” are free enough for God to be just when He judges.

Election is deciding to create a series of spirits who will be destined to freely choose their own final consequence, and that choice will be revealed come judgment day. These spirits are elected in the sense that God knew what they would freely choose when He began the whole creation-thing. God knew, and He decided to “do”.

Freewill is real, but is blown all out of proportion to its actual freedom. But we are righteously held responsible for our choices anyway. I think I need a Savior.

Loving Words of Grace, Part Three

To understand how I am approaching this subject, it is best to read Parts One and Two first.

Every person who is born again through Jesus Christ has the right to choose behaviors (like words) that are pleasing to their Heavenly Father. Indeed, factually, the Holy Spirit of God lives in them. The Holy Spirit is their helper, their teacher, their guide. He will empower them to do (speak, write) what is holy. This means that the Christian’s birthright includes Loving Words of Grace.

It is my hope that you are receiving my words as the promise of something better. It is my hope that your spirit is bearing witness to these words and that you are serious about expressing loving words of grace. I wish we had a lot of examples of people to follow. Selah.

One of the reasons that I spend a lot of time trying to “listen” to myself, is that I think the expressions of sin, or holiness, are useful for spiritual discernment. I can discern whether or not I am quenching the Holy Spirit in my life, or whether I am walking in harmony with Him. It is amazing to me, yet very true, that the Holy Spirit indwells individual Christians. The Infinite God Himself, eternal, everywhere, all knowing and all powerful, dwells within each individual Christian. And yet, we can ignore Him and offend Him and He lets us do so.

What patience the Holy Spirit has with us! What kindness! He possesses us, created us, owns us, and yet does not want what we have. He us unselfish, humble, modest and polite. It is no accident that the attributes in this paragraph are taken directly from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 which defines the love of God.

When we are filled with Him, and walking in harmony with Him, then we are pleasant somebodies who gain much. When we are resisting Him by being unloving, we are annoying nothings that gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Part One).

We can choose to follow the world with sinful words that reject others, or we can follow the Holy Spirit with loving words of grace. We can discern our own heart by keeping track of what flows from our hearts. Thus we can discern the nature of our own spirit. And we can discern the hearts of others. When I am found to utter sinful words of rejection, I need to be rescued from sin. When another utters sinful words of rejection, they need to be rescued from sin. The need is always for a rescue from sin. The need is never to drag another’s name and reputation into disrepute unless it is Biblically directed as part of discipline, of faithfulness. And even then the words should be loving words of grace.

So I end this series with three recommendations. Three things you can do, yourself, to become free of sin. God will have a part in it whether you realize it or not; but He will not do these three things ‘to you’ against your will.

First, believe what the Father says about slander and gossip. When you recognize that you have grown up in a vicious and slanderous nation, then reject the practice of the nation. You can learn the truth of the matter by searching the Bible for such words as gossip, slander, rail and revile. Compare what God says about loving and wholesome communication with what God says about sinful and evil communication. The Word can change you (James 1:21).

Second, humble yourself. If you search, you will find many times when God expects people to humble themselves. When you compare yourself with God, instead of other people, you will come away with a better sense of reality. Reality is accurately discerning your environment. God is the key person wherever you happen to be. His is the important person, everyone else is dust. Only He knows all that is going on, and only He can keep it all in context. Only He knows human motive, often times we don’t even know our own heart. When you humble yourself before the Lord, He gives you grace! You can ignore the grace (for now), but He will give it if you humble yourself.

“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble’”. 1 Peter 5:5

Perhaps this will be a sobering thought for you. God will let you ignore Him and reject His grace. God will not allow you to ignore and reject His opposition. Consider the difficulties you face in this world, and they are all mere vapor in comparison to the fact that the Infinite God will oppose you if you remain proud and will not humble yourself! When God, the ultimate dominating Spirit, who knows more about your life and circumstances than you do, decides to oppose you, then you are as opposed as you can be. He is going to do whatever He wants to do and we are too dull to discern it and too impotent to resist it. There is no plan that will succeed against the Lord.

Far better to choose to walk in submission with Him. We can, if we humble ourselves.

Third, start calling sin “sin”. If God calls my behavior “sin”, then I better call it “sin” too. This also is a good method for discerning the spirit of yourself and others.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us”. 1 John 1:8-10

Several things can easily be understood from the passage above. We can deceive ourselves. Personal deception is not good, personal deception is spiritual blindness. If we confess our sins, He is faithful to cleanse us! We call it sin, and then He actively changes us. Finally, His word is not in those who deny their sins. I strongly suspect that there is a relationship between a person honestly confessing their sins and the person thirsting for God’s word, and treasuring God’s word. A general apology is a shallow start. Calling my sin “an accident” or “a mistake” falls short of the mark. I certainly prefer the company of those who have made a shallow start to the company of those who never, ever, apologize for anything.

Speak Loving Words of Grace. It is a skill as well as a blessing. If it seems like an entirely new language, then God has blessed you with an entirely new way of communicating. Following is a passage that is for all of us. The rights and power of the new birth are eternal and growing. Yes, it gets better and better. We have a great covenant!

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11

Grace to us all.

Loving Words of Grace are the Christian’s Birthright

Part One

One Birthright (of many) from the New Birth

A ‘birthright’ is a right given to someone by their birth. Because they have been born, they have a right to something. That ‘something’ is theirs. That ‘something’ belongs to them and they can take advantage of it and use it for themselves or others. It is their right. It belongs to them.

A Christian is born again through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Because they have been born this way, they have a right from God to express loving words of grace. This right to express loving words of grace is yours as a Christian. It belongs to you and you can use it for yourself and others. Since words can be spoken and written, and since we speak and write quite often, it would be offensive to God if we ignore (despise, have contempt for) the right He has given to us. Dare we say, “Lord, I am just not motivated by the rights you have given”?

Esau had the birthright of the firstborn, a double portion of his father’s estate. God saw fit to record Esau’s contempt for the birthright that was his. You are probably familiar with the story found in Genesis 25:29-34.

Esau said, “of what use is a birthright to me?” (25:32)

Thus Esau despised his birthright (25:34). A bowl of beans was more important to him.

Esau’s reputation stands low because of what God has said. I know that I will not please God if I ignore the birthright He has given to me. And I know that God has given to me, and all Christians, the right (by new birth) to communicate with loving and gracious words.

Here is what I mean by ‘grace’. Grace is a favorable attitude toward someone regardless of who they are and what they have done. It means the door is open to that someone for a holy relationship, God’s way.

Here is what I mean by ‘love’ (agape). God defines His love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. It is my desire to call attention to the way love affects communication through the spoken and written word. Specifically, “Love is patient and kind; love does not boast; it is not arrogant (proud) or rude.” 1 Corinthians 13:4, 5a

I am asserting that God gives all Christians the right to disagree with others through words that are both gracious and loving; even if the disagreement involves sin. May God richly bless this birthright He has given to us; and may we not despise it.

Communicating with Grace

“Let your speech (and writing) always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Colossians 4:6

Therefore, the vast majority of our words should be gracious, that is, the vast majority of our words should display a favorable attitude toward the other, so that it is clear that a holy relationship is desired. If we use words that hurt, or cast doubt on the other, then they rightly conclude that we are after a victory over them. The conversation becomes a contest where people get hurt, and any chance of a holy relationship can disappear over the distant horizon. When it is needful to say something ‘salty’ (spicy, it can sting) our words should be few. This is how we ought to answer each person.

And as always, it can be a trial of our faith to do what we ought to do when others are out for victory.

Christians should reflect upon whether the world’s way of debate and argument is godless or not. We affect the lives of others with our words more than we affect them any other way.

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths (keyboards) but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29

Jesus prayed in John 17 that His followers should be one, as He and the Father were one. This comes to pass when we refuse to use talk that corrupts the Christian families’ relationships. No one enjoys being publicly embarrassed and humiliated. And ‘building yourself up’ by sending graceless words at your opponent is a sinful interpretation of this passage. It is not a good thing when we finish a disagreement with the other person doubting whether we want a relationship with them at all.

If we must compete with one another, let it be as follows. “Out do one another in showing honor.”      Romans 12:10

While there are times when we should ‘correct’ and even ‘reprove’ one another (2 Timothy 3:16), it does not follow that such times should lead us to use words in an ungodly way. From time to time Christians should evaluate whether they have been practicing worldly (godless) methods of communication. From kindergarten to grave American Christians are surrounded by multitudes of people who drag each other down for personal gain or satisfaction.

Nevertheless, the Christian birthright is to use loving words of grace. Any victory that requires the use of unholy communication is, by definition, outside of the kingdom of God. It is worthwhile for us to ask if unloving words that reject others are the result of walking in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. 

Communicating in love

“1  If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4  Love is patient and kind; love does not boast; it is not arrogant (proud) 5  or rude.”  1 Corinthians 13:1-5

Verse 1 says that no matter what I say, if it is not in love (patience, kindness, modesty, humility, politeness) then I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. When we are having a conversation with loving words of grace, building one another up, showing honor to one another, and someone starts repeatedly banging a gong or a cymbal, then meaningful conversation is over! We have a major distraction. Impatient words, mean words, boastful words, proud words and rude words immerse loving and gracious words under annoying noise. Christian fellowship is quenched by sin.

Verse 2 and 3 can be accurately abbreviated by saying that no matter what I think (verse 2) or what I do (verse 3), without love I am nothing. It is not unreasonable to conclude that our words are directly related to our thoughts, and communication itself is something we ‘do’.

Therefore, is it fair to say: “No matter what I say, if it is not in a loving way then I am an annoying nothing who gains nothing”?

But the Christian birthright of speaking loving words of grace offers the blessing of us being “Pleasant somebodies who gain something”. I am confident that God sees things this way. It is worthwhile for Christians to consider who it is that they want to please. Choose to please God.

This idea of ‘loving words of grace’ is too idealistic!

I think God disagrees that it is too idealistic. Rather, it is just ‘ideal’.

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”. Matthew 5:48

“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15, 16

Choosing the virtue of ‘loving words of grace’ is no more impractical than our Lord’s words about perfection and holiness. Indeed, loving words of grace are needed to fulfill perfection and holiness.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Master and our Savior from sin. If you do not reject Him as your Master, then He will also save you from the wrath that follows the Day of Judgment. And our words are a major part of that Day.

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (hand writes). The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak (write), for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:34-37

Loving words of grace will be a normal part of eternal life when sin is removed!

The above statement is easy to agree with, right?

You may have just unwrapped a major insight. Eternal life begins the moment you are born again. Eternal life can be yours right now. Live it now. Sin is the problem. Eternal life being ‘far off’ is not the problem.

“Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…” 1 Timothy 5:11, 12

Believe that eternal life is for now. Get rid of the sin. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. Let loving words of grace build others up. It is your right by the new birth. Don’t despise this birthright, treasure it. 

As Citizens; vote your preference. As Christians; Clean Your OWN House!

Yes, I am also unhappy with what the United States is doing in regard to defining marriage.

Yes, I am glad that many are working politically against the trend of redefinition. Vote! Lovingly and faithfully express your political opinion.




But I want to ask you: How many 'signs of the times' do you need before you can predict the final destination? Why believe that a secular nation will care about what God has said? It is time for the remnant to own the responsibility of teaching the truth of God to their own family. It is time for the remnant to put significant effort into preparing their own to endure with faithfulness and love the times that will come.




It is time for the church (ecclesia) to actually 'come out' of the world; and this is clearly seen as the world does not want your influence. The United States of America is NOT the Kingdom of God. Faithful Christians are citizens of the Kingdom first. 

Christians are still free to emphasize God’s purpose of marriage. Why wait until the concept of ‘marriage’ is further maimed within our culture? Perhaps we could equip our congregations with what is right in God’s eyes whether the culture ever agrees or not.

I wonder, should we ignore the need for our young people to know about God’s purpose of marriage? Perhaps you do not ‘feel’ a need to set the whole culture right. Can’t we try to equip the next generation with the truth of God?

So I am putting up a ‘model’; a ‘work in progress’, of what could be said as part of the wedding ceremony. I am looking to others to give improvements.

This post is only about constructing the words of a wedding ceremony that is faithful to the Words of God.

Begin-----------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Everyone,

We are gathered here, in the presence of God, as witnesses to what is about to take place. We are here to see and hear the commitment that {Groom} and {Bride} are making in this public setting.

{Groom} and {Bride} are entering into a covenant with God and each other, to live together as husband and wife, with the presence of God, Himself, as the primary blessing of their union.

While American marriage is little more than a social contract; Christian marriage is a Covenant first, and a contract second. The Covenant is major, and binding for their lifetimes. The contract is legally binding, but far less meaningful. Only wickedness or death will break the Covenant. They are about to commit themselves to God and one another for the rest of their lives. This is a holy moment.

{Prayer}  “Holy God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, Judge of All Mankind, we come before you in humility and faith in your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to ask for your blessing upon {Groom} and {Bride}. They have faith in You, and give themselves entirely to you, knowing that you will lead them throughout their lives; through better times and worse, though richer or poorer, through sickness and health, ‘till death do they part, or the Lord Jesus Christ, returns.”

“We acknowledge our sins before you though we cannot fathom how terrible they are. We thank you for your gracious gift of forgiveness through Christ’s blood, shed on the cross. We hope to live eternal life in your presence, through the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and through your Holy Spirit living in us.”

{Groom}, do you take {Bride} to be your Christian wife, to love her as Christ loved the church, to give yourself up for her, to encourage her growth in Christlikeness, to lead your family in the holy spiritual priorities of:  personal repentance, personal humility, confession of your own sin, willingness to forgive, Christian love, and continuous meaningful discipleship under the leadership of God’s Holy Word and Holy Spirit?

{Groom} “I agree, and I will do it!”

{Bride}, do you take {Groom} to be your Christian husband, to submit to him as to the Lord, as the church itself submits to Christ, to encourage his growth in Christlikeness, to lead in the holy spiritual priorities of:  personal repentance, personal humility, confession of your own sin, willingness to forgive, Christian love, and continuous meaningful discipleship under the leadership of God’s Holy Word and the Holy Spirit?

{Bride} “I agree, and I will do it!”

{Groom}, if you are committed to this action, then repeat after me; “{Bride}, with this ring, I pledge my life and love, and enter this marriage covenant with God and you, in the name of the Father, and Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

{Bride}, if you are committed to this action, then repeat after me; “{Groom}, with this ring, I pledge my life and love, and enter this marriage covenant with God and you, in the name of the Father, and Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Since {Groom} and {Bride} have freely entered into a marriage covenant before all of you, you are asked to pray for them and encourage them to remain faithful to their commitments to God and each other.

{Prayer} “Sovereign Lord, you have entered into covenant with your children, {Groom, first name} and {Bride, first name}, we ask in Jesus’ name that you seal this covenant, and bless them abundantly, that your love* may abound in them more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that they may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to your own Glory and Praise. Amen”

According to our Lord’s own word; “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” Amen, and Amen.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you {Husband and Wife, named as they desire}.

{To husband}, You may modestly kiss the bride.

End-----------------------------------------------------------------

Again, this is only a first ‘model’, I welcome your suggestions.

It is all worthy of thought.

*Philippians 1:9-11

Theistic Evolution Reduces the Glory of God

God speaks; and it is so. What Glory is this that God can merely speak and it comes to pass?

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  Genesis 1:3 ESV

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters,... And it was so.          Genesis 1:6, 7 ESV

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together,… And it was so.  Genesis 1:9 ESV

And God said, “Let the earth sprout… And it was so.  Genesis 1:11 ESV

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens… And it was so.  Genesis 1:14, 15 ESV

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures,,, And it was so.  Genesis 1:24 ESV

Then God said, “Let us make man… And it was so.  Genesis 1:26, 30

On each day of creation God spoke and brought into being what He declared; accompanied by the words “And there was evening and there was morning, (a sequential numeric) day.

The heavens and the earth are vast beyond our comprehension and complex beyond our understanding. The wisdom and power and presence of God are magnified in great Glory for he did what He said He did when He said He did it.

God speaks, and it is so.

How does it glorify God to inject hundreds of millions and billions of years between the time God speaks and the manifestation of His word? Is there even an obscure hint within the text of such long ages?

God speaks; and 900 million years later it is so? God speaks; and 3 billion years later it is so?

Or does the Creator speak very slowly?

One would tend to think that God’s Glory is seriously curtailed by such a method of interpreting Genesis 1. Reducing God’s Glory is not worship it is antiworship.

What godlessness and unrighteousness is this that suppresses the truth?  Romans 1:18b

Where are the Biblical expositions that teach theistic evolution?

Theistic evolution does not come from the mind of God, but from the imaginations of those who predetermine that they will seek knowledge without considering the existence of God at all. In fact, any reference to the Creator is intentionally excluded from their pursuit of knowledge. God is intentionally excluded!

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.  Psalm 14:1

            Will you reduce the Glory of God in order to Compromise with Fools?

The Flood of Noah: Global or Local?

…Noah, a herald of righteousness…2 Peter 2:5 ESV

What did Noah proclaim? Would he not proclaim what God told him?

“For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.  Genesis 6:17 ESV

God certainly told Noah more than this, but this word is the heart of the building of the Ark.

The context was a time in which mankind lived upward of 900 years. A little research on your part will reveal that the population was probably between many-hundreds-of-millions to possibly billions of people. A little more research on your part will indicate that we are genetic mutants compared to the people of this time.

Such people would not have stayed in one local area. Even if compelled by some great post-flood patriotism (Genesis 11:4) there would be rebels and outcasts who would leave the ‘local area’ far behind. They, in turn, would multiply and fill the earth.

How would those who heard the preaching of Noah interpret it?

Then, like now, there would be apostates who proclaimed their faithfulness to the Creator and yet doubted Noah’s word. They would have displayed varying levels of unbelief. Some would mock. Some would consider Noah’s words to be figurative. Some would want to believe but be unable to overcome the skepticism of the respectable intellectuals among them, and would compromise with them.

Believing that the flood was real, they would only consider it ‘local’. Appreciating Noah’s call to repentance they would fear the disapproval of the great men of the world even more than they feared God. It is still the same in that regard. After all, a global flood was not a ‘salvation’ issue.

Such an interpretation did not work out well for them. They drowned in their own unfaithfulness and took their followers with them.

Little Tiny Post: Great Big Application

The demons all obey the Lord Jesus Christ.

You don't.

See the problem?

Think about it. Pray about it. Talk about it.

Just don't ignore it.

Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

If Jesus Christ is our Lord, then He will save us from sin, now and in
the future.

If we are saved from sin, then we are saved from wrath, now and in the future.

If we desire to be saved from wrath in the future, but do not want to
be saved from our sins now; then we want to sin now and get away with
it both now and in the future.

Did Jesus Christ die on the cross so we could sin now and avoid wrath?
Or did He die on the cross so we could be saved from sin now and live
a godly life now?

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,…”  Titus
2:11, 12

“Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no
one disregard you.”         Titus 2:15

Why give regard to anyone who does not ‘declare these things, and
exhort and rebuke with all authority?’

What kind of soil will this seed fall upon?

Biblical Inerrancy can Fail

Inerrancy, like physical training, is of some value; but it will fall short of addressing unfaithful teaching (doctrine).

I agree with the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. I am impressed with this statement. I could not do better. I could not even come close to doing better.

While I deeply regret the godless way some Southern Baptists treated each other during the Conservative Resurgence (all sides), I agree that the issue needed to be addressed in that generation. It will need to be addressed in every generation until the Lord Jesus Christ returns.

But even if all evangelical entities embraced Inerrancy with all their heart, it still would not prevent many kinds of apostasy (falling away from the truth). And Inerrancy alone fails for the following reasons.

First reason

The flesh (ESV, NAS), the sinful nature (NIV), is capable of idolatry (Gal. 5:19, 20). A person without the help of the Holy Spirit is still disposed toward religious belief. The lost man and the Christian who quenches the Holy Spirit are still capable of understanding inerrancy. The lost man and the Christian who quenches the Holy Spirit are still capable of sincere zeal as they approach religious issues. But they do not have access to the leadership of the Holy Spirit who is necessary for guiding them into the truth (John 14:26, 1 Cor. 2:11-16); unless they repent. That does not prevent them from drawing conclusions anyway. They will ‘interpret’ the inerrant Scripture as they, personally, see fit. They will still share their influence, they will still teach and preach, they will still write books, they will still teach in the world’s seminaries, and they will still find denominational positions in which to serve.

Our denominational structures are becoming less connected with our ability to actually know the persons who lead the denominational structure. We are increasingly tempted to give our confidence to a person’s words when we have no meaningful contact with the way the person lives. When this happens, we are deprived of the following safeguards; “If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him” (1 John 2:29; see also 1 John 3:4-10).  An inerrantist who does not walk in submissive and dependent fellowship with the Holy Spirit may be “accredited”, but not by the Holy Spirit.

Second reason

Our American culture is currently immersed in the pursuit of comfort and convenience. In such a culture it is rare to take the fear of God seriously. The fear of God is more than ‘reverence’. One can reverence God’s name and still take fearless liberties in interpreting God’s words in a way that God does not intend. If one has a growing fear of God then one will not dare to interpret God’s words in a way that reduces God’s glory or that ‘might’ be in error. To interpret God’s words in a way that changes people’s perception of what God has said is a serious matter. Even a false prophet can be sincere. What can a man possibly do that is more offensive to God than misrepresent what God has said?

The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Pro. 1:29) and the beginning of knowledge (Pro. 1:7). The fear of God will cause us to approach His words with the absolute highest respect for submitting ourselves to His meaning. The fear of God will cause us to approach His words with the absolute greatest humility of which we are capable. It is easy to let this priority slip amidst our ambitions toward comforts and conveniences, yet God says, “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2b).  Impeccable credentials and vast knowledge and attractive articulation are not safeguards! Popularity is not a worthy sign of faithfulness. An inerrantist who does not tremble at God’s words will not securely handle God’s words.

Third reason

In a culture that is immersed in comfort and convenience it is hard to avoid personal ambition in a religious ‘pecking order’. Whether in a local church or in a denominational structure, we all are tempted to rise in the eyes of those who are around us. We crave the affirmation of our ‘peers’ and of our ‘idols’ ( !!!). We tend to follow men as if they were worth following. An insidious consequence of this ambition is that we do not want to seriously challenge one another to follow the Lord Jesus Christ whether the denominational structure agrees or not. We are beset by the fear of man instead of the fear of the Lord (John 5:41-44).

What is the answer to this problem? There isn’t a human answer to this problem! Only the Sovereign will of God expressed through the Holy Spirit will cause a generation to become faithful. Consider the following two instances and you will see the magnitude of the problem.

Instance #1.  Seminaries turn out men and women who want to learn about God. They are tested and trained by the seminary staff. If one makes the grades and earns the units; they are graduated. Which seminary will not grant an earned degree because the student is quenching the spirit or lacks a meaningful fear of God? Should such discernment fall to the staff of the seminary? Should such a weighty matter of discernment fall to the governing board of the seminary? Should it fall to those who appoint the governing board? No, no, and no. What mere humans could make such a judgment within the seminary structures? Will seminary staff keep their own ranks faithful? Will the governing boards keep the seminary staffs faithful? How? A degree is validation of educational achievement, but not a validation of faithfulness to God.

Instance #2  Denominational employees and missionaries spend a whole lot of time on their own. It is not possible to maintain close accountability with someone who is on their own most of the time. It is not desirable to maintain close accountability with someone who must be trusted to be on their own most of the time. To a lesser extent, ministerial staffs are also on their own a great deal of the time. Who can possibly know their hearts? Who can tell if they are walking in fellowship with God’s Holy Spirit? Who can tell what they are teaching regarding God’s words? Who can tell if they fear God in the way that humility demands? How does one discern whether they are ambitious for the Lord’s will instead of ambitious for their own comforts and conveniences?

In both instances, there is no sure human plan to maintain a faithful approach to God’s holy and inerrant words. However, there is something that can be done.

We can pray that God will have mercy upon us, and give us faithful leaders. We can pray that our leaders will care about God’s approval more than they care about the approval of men; even if the men are members of the same religious ‘pecking order’.

Our leaders can challenge one another to humble themselves, and tremble at God’s words, and walk every day in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and despise bitter jealousy and selfish ambition toward an ‘office in the church’, or a degree, or a denominational office, or a title, or great popularity among the people of the world. “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.”  James 3:14, 15

Religious leaders who care more for their paycheck and their tenure and their denominational rise than they do for the fear of God and the integrity of God’s words are already quenching the Holy Spirit. How can the fear of God be before their eyes? Religious leaders who will not put their name behind their witness to righteousness are already quenching the Holy Spirit.

Why don’t most of the members of past and present evangelical denominations publicly condemn their own denomination’s apostasy? Why didn’t they prevent it? Could they prevent it?

Why don’t the staffs and professors of past and present evangelical seminaries publicly condemn their own seminaries’ apostasy? Why didn’t they prevent it? Could they prevent it?

Why do so many current people call themselves “Christians” and deny that every generation must always be wary of the many instances where they must confront unfaithful leadership? Haven’t they read the Old Testament and the New Testament? Are they unaware of apostasy even when our culture is submerged in it?

Fourth reason

I will risk saying that it is self-evident that those who speak of ‘inerrancy’ are students of the Bible; though some may only be students of the history of man studying God (theology). Some may be both. Both are beneficial. But the study of what God says about Himself and man far exceeds the study of what man has said about God. The words of theologians are not the words of God. Biblical scholarship trumps theology.

Here is a simple land-mine that you cannot pass without getting yourself blown away. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”  (James 1:22). A great deal of study (hearing) without a great deal of humility, obedience, and confession of sin; results in a great deal of personal deception. A disciple of Jesus Christ wants to know what their Master teaches so they can do what their Master says should be done. A disciple who only wants to know what Jesus Christ teaches so they can teach it also has a self-deception problem. God says the result of their Scriptural intake will result in deception, not faithfulness. Will a seminary degree, or the accolades of your friends in the ‘pecking order’, or acclaim from the congregation, enable you to see the truth? Not at all. When a Christian does not do what God says, they deceive themselves. They may be personally sincere, they may affirm inerrancy, but they are quenching God’s Spirit and they are not faithful teachers. The more one shows rebellious contempt for God’s words, while studying large portions of God’s words; the more they deceive themselves.

A man’s affirmation of the truth of inerrancy is not enough. Believe in inerrancy? Yes. And fear God and tremble at His words. Maintain a daily humility that reveals a contrite heart to those around you. Do what God says. “To obey is better than sacrifice”. Care more for what God says than what your religious ‘pecking order’ desires. Have the courage to be a witness (Greek – martyr) and challenge those who are false. Challenge those who might be false. What will you tell Jesus on your day of judgment? “I thought it might be false teaching, but I didn’t dare find out?” Really? Put your name behind your actions so that you are not a false witness. Do what God says you should do. When you fail, confess it as sin (regardless of what others may think of you). Then try again sometime.

So what is the solution to saving the evangelical denominations from apostasy? There isn’t one that I can see. No solution was found for similar groups in Europe over the last 150 years. While I sincerely pray for mercy, I see cause for judgment and wrath mounting higher and higher.

Might there be a solution for you, personally? Sure. Read the Bible as if God breathed it Himself. Take it personally, with fear and humility and contrition. Confess your sin to Him and seek purification and faithfulness. Influence yourself!

And as God empowers your faithfulness, influence those around you. Who knows how far your faithful influence will spread?

If a nation follows a course of apostasy, the denomination doesn’t have to follow it. If a denomination follows a course of apostasy, the church doesn’t have to follow it. If the church follows a course of apostasy, the family doesn’t have to follow it. If the family follows a course of apostasy, the individual doesn’t have to follow.

Fifth reason

What God has said about love is critical regarding our faithfulness. Adherence to Biblical Inerrancy without the personal priority to love (1 Cor. 13:4-7) God and others (Matt. 22:37-40) results in becoming an ‘annoying nothing that gains nothing’ in God’s eyes (1 Cor. 13:1-3). I fear God too much to become an ‘annoying nothing that gains nothing’ in His eyes. The Holy Spirit will not fellowship with an ‘annoying nothing that gains nothing’. The very mark of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is that Christians love one another (John 13:34, 35). There is a massive deception in the middle of our culture: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).

Unloving words and actions quench the Holy Spirit. Even when one is defending the truth of the Bible, unloving words and actions tend to annul the blessing that God wants to bestow. An unloving controversy over any given issue can do a lot of damage. Unloving advocates for Biblical Inerrancy can do the cause more damage than good.

Will adherence to Biblical Inerrancy help a person before God when they are apathetic about what God considers to be the Great Commandment? What kind of blindness is it, when Christians don’t bother with a personal awareness of what God means when He uses the word ‘love’?

What kind of religious organization is it, when the love of God is assumed, or ignored, or belittled? What is a Soldier of Jesus Christ who does not bother to carefully examine the Lord of Hosts’ greatest command?

I believe in Biblical Inerrancy. But it will not stand alone. The remnant will stand alone; and they will not fail.