Slave to the King

Unworthy rebels, redeemed by the King of Kings and made servants fit for His use.

Tag: Church

Such Were Some of You

January 26, 2023 / / 2 Comments

What is a Christian? A Christian is a person who was once a rebel sinner, at war with God through wicked works. But by God’s merciful redeeming grace, he or she has been freed from their sins and adopted into His family through the propitiatory work of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21-26). Because Jesus died in the place of sinners on the cross (taking the wrath of the Father they deserve) and was buried in a tomb, only to raise Himself from the grave of the third day, those who trust in His work receive His righteousness in the great exchange (2 Cor. 5:21). Now, through this free and marvelous gift, sinners become saints and have the promise of everlasting life. And on top of this, they are made new creations with new hearts and new desires (2. Cor. 5:17). This is a Christian.

Yet, how does one come to be a Christian? What must we do to be saved? Romans 10:9 tells us, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This belief and confession come from faith in Jesus Christ and His completed work on the cross. There are no works that we can do because we are slaves to sin and the wages of our sin is death (Rom. 6:20-23). There is no work we can offer to God that will merit any kindness from Him for all our sins are an abomination before Him. God cannot look on sin without pouring out His judgment upon it (Hab. 1:13). Therefore, the free gift of salvation must be given by God by grace through faith that no man can boast of having saved himself (Eph. 2:8-9). In fact, faith itself is a gift from God. Therefore, we are called in Scripture to repent, turn from our sins, and trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 3:2; Mark 1:14-15). 

Repentance from sins, while a gift from God Himself (2 Tim. 2:25), is a command of God to all those who would find forgiveness in Christ. It is a change of mind which leads to a change of action. It means we agree with God that our sins have put us at odds with Him, that we are deserving of His judgment, but that we will no longer live in the sins from which He has redeemed us (Rom. 6:2). It is the mark of a believer that he or she will live a life of ongoing repentance, persevering against temptation, trials, and tribulation until they day they are ushered into glory (Matt 24:13). The saint is one who once walked in the ways of this world but has turned to become more like their Savior (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And true salvation is marked by the saint who continually lives a life of repentance and seeks to do the good works of God, which He prepared for us beforehand as a testimony to His redeeming work and the glory of His name (Eph 2:10)

With all this in mind, we must face a crisis that continues to rear its head in the professing church. Thanks to weak and shallow preaching in the professing church, through those who promote easy believism and seeker-friendly methodologies, there are professing Christians today who do not believe one must live a life of repentance in Christ to be a Christian. Even worse, they preach an ideology that one can be identified by their sin of sexual immorality and still be a follower of Christ. Today, within the professing church, there is a continual call for churches to accept the idea that there can be “Gay Christians,” “Queer Christians,” or “LGBTQIA Christians.” That persons who live ongoing lifestyles of unrepentant sin before God can somehow still be followers of Christ and should be treated as such. Such an ideology is foreign to Scripture and should never be permitted within the church.

Putting aside for the moment the ludicrous attempts to redefine what Scripture clearly teaches on sexual immorality, let us address the idea that such a thing as a “Gay Christian” can exist within the church. Paul clearly teaches that to continue in the practice of any sin is to be a slave to sin (see again Romans 6). One cannot be a slave to Christ, having been freed from the power of sin and death, yet remain in unrepentant sin (1 John 1:6). In fact, the church is called to examine the fruit of professing Christians to see if we are genuinely in the faith (Matt. 7:15-20; 1 John 4:1-6). Therefore, a genuine Christian cannot be defined as someone who not only lives in sin but identifies, and qualifies, themselves by an adjective attached to their Christianity. To clarify, one cannot be a “Liar Christian,” an “Adulterous Christian,” a “Thief Christian,” or a “Murdering Christian.” To identify one’s self by an unrepentant sin and attach that descriptor to Christ is to blaspheme the very Savior that person claims to follow. 

Such as it is with being a “Gay Christian.” God’s word repeatedly condemns sexual immorality throughout the Bible including acts of homosexuality. Only by twisting and redefining what Scripture says can anyone hope to alter this unchangeable truth. Therefore, just as any other unrepentant sin would reveal that a person is not redeemed (because it reveals their heart remains unchanged and enslaved to sin), for any person to describe themselves as openly homosexual is to admit to God they reject His commandments on sexual purity. Any willful rejection of God’s commandments demonstrates one does not follow Christ at all (Luke 6:46-49).

The greatest lie a professing pastor or church can tell a person living in disobedience to God is that it is fine to remain in their sin, that they still are accepted and loved by God. While we do not need to be morally perfect to come to Christ, as none of us can ever do so, to follow Christ means that He has changed us and continually works by the power of the Holy Spirit to produce repentance and good works. Any pastor or church that tells professing Christians they can live in rebellion to God by practicing sexual immorality heaps lie upon lie to those under their charge. What they are doing is leading such persons to further sear their own consciences against God. His law is written upon our hearts (Rom. 2:15) and it accuses us of our sin, bringing conviction upon us. It is meant to lead us to repentance and faith in Christ. Yet, professing pastors, desperate for the applause of the world, seek to deaden the voice of that God-given conscience by telling openly homosexual people they can worship Christ just as they are. Such a lie comes from the deepest pits of hell. 

Pastors, Christians, and churches do not demonstrate love when they refuse to call out sin and preach repentance to those professing to follow Christ. Paul condemned such wickedness in the Corinthian church when they allowed a man engaged in an openly incestuous relationship to remain in their midst (1 Cor. 5). Paul commanded the church to apply discipline in this man’s life, to cast him out of the church that he may come to repentance. Today, in many churches, this act would be considered cruel and unloving. Yet, to Paul, this act of church discipline was an immense act of love in hope that the man would genuinely repent and turn to Christ. To refuse to call our friends, loved ones, acquaintances, or even strangers to turn from sin because they may be upset with us is no act of love. It is an act of pure selfishness because we care more about how we are seen among the unregenerate than how we are seen by God. Even worse, it is an absolute denial of the power of the Holy Spirit to bring about repentance and faith to those who desperately need Christ. Those who refuse to preach repentance serve not God, rather they serve the father of lies himself, Satan.

True love in the church is that which preaches the entirety of the gospel. That we are, by nature, rebel sinners who deserve the full and righteous wrath of God. Yet, in His gracious mercy, He sent His only Son to save sinners. That through the propitiation of Christ on the cross, our sins may be forgiven and our hearts may be made new. And, in being made a new creation, we now have new desires that we might serve our Lord by obeying His commandments. Yet, while we live in this life, we will struggle against the desires of the flesh. The temptation to sin will always be present with us but, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can overcome and choose not to sin. Will it always be easy? No. We will stumble and fall? Yes, and quite often. This too is part of our journey on the path of sanctification. This is the power of the gospel. This is what must be preached. Without apology or adulteration.

Woe to those professing pastors, Christians, and churches who preach not the true gospel. You reveal yourselves not to fear God but man. And, if you continue on this path, you will prove that you never belonged to Christ, to begin with. Repent of the fear of man. Do not accept the lies of this world. Rather, trust in the power of the Holy Spirit alone and His redeeming work in the life of believers. To do anything less is to blaspheme the Lord you claim to follow. And you may one day find yourself standing before Him as he says, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23) 

All Things to All People?

January 16, 2023 / / 1 Comment

“I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” – 1 Cor. 9:22b

This passage has often been cited by those who argue that pragmatism in the church is an acceptable practice. That using any means necessary to grow the church is permissible if the ends (more bodies in the pews) are achieved. However, is that really what Paul was saying in the passage? Hardly.

In the preceding verses, Paul refers to the fact that, as an apostle, he had a right to call upon the churches to provide for his financial needs while he engaged in the work of ministry. He even demonstrates biblically that it was well within his authority and rights to do so. Yet, rather than compel the churches to give to his monetary needs, Paul chooses to work with his own hands and earn his keep.

Rather than burden the churches and the people to whom he ministered, Paul humbles himself and engages in manual labor to provide for himself and his ministry. Paul takes himself out of the way that the word of God may be central to his work of preaching, evangelism, and discipleship. Paul never wanted to be seen to be engaged in the work of ministry merely for financial gain. Therefore, when Paul became all things to all people, what he was doing was ensuring that he never became the obstacle to God’s work of salvation and discipleship.

Contrast this with the mega-church growth ideology. Those engaged in church growth use this passage to justify the use of all manner of entertainment to attract the “unchurched” to their services. Be it concerts, self-help messages, laser light shows, giveaways of material goods/money, or high-energy, celebrity-styled preachers, the church growth crowd justifies such pragmatic efforts by saying they are merely becoming “all things to all people.”

After all, this is what all people want. They don’t want to be lectured, told they need to repent, called to forsake sin, warned against Hell, etc. They want to be made to feel comfortable, cared about, and entertained. So, they argue, they must become “all things” by changing the church to meet these needs.

This is the exact opposite of Paul and the message he gave to the Corinthians. What Paul argued was the removal of himself as an obstacle that the unadulterated Word of God may penetrate rock-hard sinful hearts so that God may save sinners.

Church growth, instead, removes the Word that man is made the chief object of worship. Instead of humbling and removing themselves, church-growth pastors remove the Word and make much of themselves so that the unregenerate may be entertained. And the more fans arrive in the building, the more they tout themselves and their message.

We must reject the misuse of Paul’s message to the Corinthians as justification for pragmatism in the church. We must humble ourselves, make much of God and His Word, and trust in Him for the ends to be achieved.

Deconstruction is Not Reformation

July 7, 2022 / / 1 Comment

On July 4, 2022, Adam Page, a pastor at Amelia Baptist Church made a post on Twitter that read: “I wish I could find my church deacons from the 90s & tell them Daniel Haseltine (Jars of Clay) Derek Webb (Caedmon’s Call) & Kevin Max (DC Talk) no longer hold to sola scriptura and/or have deconstructed, but John Cooper from “devil band” Skillet is persevering strong in doctrine.” This is a great observation from Page as we see numerous Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) artists either loudly leave the faith or advocate for heretical and apostate ideologies. Page’s tweet did not tag any of the artists themselves. He was not seeking to score any points against them. It was simply an observation made to his followers and friends on social media.

Enter then, Derek Webb. It is unclear just how Mr. Webb found Adam Page’s post but find it he did. Webb did not enter into a conversation with Page. He did not ask any questions or seek to make any clarifications. However, what Webb did was share Page’s original post with a comment of his own (known as “quote tweeting”). Webb wrote, “‘deconstructing’ is part of reforming’. i’d like think your church deacons would be comforted knowing that we’re following the reformation’s cry of ‘semper reformanda’ (always reforming), calling out teaching & practices that the church should repent of and leave behind.”

What Derek Webb did in that single quote tweet was to claim that those engaging in deconstruction are just being modern-day Reformers. That is a bold claim. But is it true? Should deconstructionists be seen as acting in concert with the Reformers, seeking to draw themselves closer to Christ while discarding man-made traditions that have been added to His word? An examination of deconstruction as compared to the essence of the Reformation, sola Scriptura, will demonstrate that such an association is not only undeserved but it is a false claim that exposes how apostate is the deconstructionist ideology.

Deconstruction

First, it is recommended readers of this article listen to the 3-hour long podcast episode #117 of “Just Thinking” entitled “Evangelical Deconstructionism.” Yes, it really is 3-hours long and it is worth listening to every minute of the program. Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker take the time to establish what our source of authority truly is (Scripture), where deconstructionism originated from (Marxist philosopher Jacques Derrida), and how the ideology is being employed to tear down the orthodox Christian faith. Listeners will get a seminary-level education on an ideology that is incongruent with Christianity.

Deconstructionism is the practice of taking something apart (language, a text, a system, a practice); looking for what is believed to be inconsistencies or problems; using what is found to proclaim the system is broken, oppressive or destructive; and then rebuilding the matter into the examiner’s own image. Deconstructionists always engage in this practice in a negative sense. This means they enter into the process assuming the system produces brokenness, oppression, inequality, and more. They do not enter with an intent to determine objective truth. Deconstructionism presumes there cannot be any real objective truth. Deconstructionists also distrust all systems and apply a “hermeneutic of suspicion” when engaging in the process of deconstruction (see again “Just Thinking” episode 117).

Therefore, deconstruction is not concerned with determining whether a system or practice is true as it stands. Since objective truth does not exist in the mind of the deconstructionist, the quest is not about determining if the system is valid or in need of reformation. Deconstruction is concerned only with the process of questioning, it does not concern itself with testing or supporting an argument. Therefore, it focuses on simply questioning the system, breaking it down to find where the cracks exist, then reforming it to achieve the deconstructionist’s predetermined goals. In the end, deconstructionism is ultimately about tearing apart a system so that something else can be built in its place.

Once the deconstructionist has introduced sufficient levels of doubt into the process to tear apart the system, reconstruction can begin. However, reconstruction is not about finding objective truth by which the system should be established. Instead, it seeks to add the voices of intersectionally oppressed groups to be included in the new system. The goal is to ensure the new system meets with the approval and inclusion of groups who previously claimed hurt, oppression, inequality, or some other grievance. Reconstruction is about creating a pluralistic system by which all previously grieved or oppressed classes have their demands met at the expense of the class said to be at fault. Deconstruction and reconstruction are humanistic and godless tools by which men can force the desires of their hearts to be met at the expense of truth.

Evangelical Deconstruction

In the aforementioned “Just Thinking” episode, Darrell Harrison outlines “The Five Points of Progress of Evangelical Deconstructionism.” According to Harrison, the points are:

  • Embrace and posit the idea that the church is a socially constructed system, not a divinely ordained idea that originated in the mind of God;
  • Assume the socially constructed system is designed to be exclusive of certain intersectional identities, traditions, and behaviors (i.e. LGBTQ);
  • Identify subjective points and cracks in the socially constructed system that have failed, in the estimation of the deconstructionist, and need to be fixed or reconstructed;
  • Apply a “hermeneutic of suspicion” to that socially constructed system so that anyone who is even remotely associated or connected to that system is, by default, deemed untrustworthy;
  • Reconstruct that socially constructed system into the image and likeness of the culture with a culturally acceptable theology, soteriology, anthropology, hamartiology, and eschatology.

Remember that that point of deconstruction is not about determining truth. It assumes the system – in this case, Christianity – is one of oppression and inequality. Therefore, evangelical deconstructionists begin with the idea that Christianity, as it exists now, is not something ordained by God in His word. They presuppose the nature of the Christian faith is untrustworthy and damaging in its current state. And, since Christianity is only a social construct, not a divine mandate, then it must be deconstructed to do away with the inequalities that exist.

Evangelical deconstructionists are not starting with God and His revealed word. They are starting with a philosophical ideology that presumes systems are all about power and control. This is not an examination of who God is and what He desires for His people. This is determining what they believe Christianity is supposed to be and how it falls short of meeting cultural expectations.

If, as Derek Webb claims, evangelical deconstructionists are simply the modern-day equivalent of the Reformers, then one would expect they would seek to apply the same standard of examination the Reformers used. However, when we look at what the Reformers taught, we realize these two groups are worlds apart. Deconstruction is the polar opposite of the Reformation for one basic reason: the principle of sola Scriptura.

Sola Scriptura

According to Michael Kruger in his article, “Understanding Sola Scriptura,” on Ligonier.org, the “conviction of sola Scriptura— the Scriptures alone are the Word of God and, therefore, the only infallible rule for life and doctrine—provided the fuel needed to ignite the Reformation.”

The Reformers stood against the Catholic Church which acknowledged that Scripture “was the ultimate standard for all of life and doctrine…” but they also believed God communicated outside the written text. The Church “claimed a trifold authority structure, which included Scripture, tradition, and the Magisterium. The key component in this trifold authority was the Magisterium itself, which is the authoritative teaching office of the Roman Catholic Church, manifested primarily in the pope.” The Reformers recognized that there was no other equal or higher authority than the word of God. And they held their ground resolutely on this matter.

The Reformers taught sola Scriptura demanded that man be held to the ultimate authority of God’s word. No man could introduce ideologies, beliefs, commands, or principles of the Christian faith that did not first pass muster under the authority of the Scriptures. This did not mean the creeds or confessions, books, historical examinations of doctrinal development, or other realms of study could not guide or instruct the Christian church. Those very things could be of great help and guidance to the church at large. They could even provide guard rails to prevent Christians from wandering into personal interpretations that were inconsistent with the faith. Yet, none of these tools could be equal to or exceed the authority of Scripture. All such matters must be subservient to the Word of God.

Where sola fide (faith alone) was the material cause (the source) of the Reformation, sola Scriptura was the formal cause (the essence) of it. How could men know that they were saved by faith alone in Christ alone? By the very word of God as revealed in the Scriptures. It was by this that the Reformers sought to combat the man-made traditions of the Catholic Church. They fought and reclaimed the orthodox Christian faith from the ideas and traditions of men who sought to dominate the church. The Reformation was about rejecting outside ideologies and calling Christians to cling more tightly to the revealed word.

For the Reformers, the Reformation was not simply about discarding theologies and practices they did not like. Rather, they examined the claims of the papacy against the Scriptures themselves. Reformers, such as Martin Luther, were not initially seeking to break from the Church but to conform the Catholic Church to the Scriptures. The birth of the Protestant church was a call to turn from worldly traditions, to die to self, and be conformed to Christ as He revealed Himself in His word.

Did the Reformers call out for repentance from false doctrine? Absolutely. But what were those calls based upon? The examination of the Scriptures which demanded the Christian understand the context of the writers and readers. To learn what was meant at the time the words were written, what the original audience was expected to understand, and how they were supposed to apply the teachings in their lives. The Reformers knew that the key to refuting the false teaching of the papacy lie not in simply believing that Rome was wrong and it hurt people. It lay specifically in knowing what God meant in His revealed word, interpreting it rightly, teaching it to the people, and calling them to obey it.

Genuine reformation starts with the Word, not with assuming the Christian faith is just bad because people do not like how it is practiced.

Deconstruction is Not Reformation

Deconstructionists like Derek Webb want to picture themselves as modern-day Reformers who are rescuing the church from itself. In truth, they have much more in common with the Catholic Church of Luther’s day.

Deconstructionists do not examine first the Word of God to determine how they should live and practice the faith. Instead, they begin with a presupposition that the church today simply is wrong because the culture at large feels excluded and oppressed by its practices. Rather than examine those presuppositions against Scripture, they seek to force their ideology upon the church and require it to conform to their man-made traditions. They have elevated their philosophies to be equal with and above Scripture itself. The Christian faith is expected to change to meet their expectations instead of their being required to conform to the commands of Christ.

Christian, the deconstructionist is not a reformer. He is, at best, a confused and deluded person but, at worst, he is an apostate and false teacher. Do not be manipulated by the emotional appeals to see such persons as merely practicing the battle cry of the Reformers. They could not be further from “Semper Reformanda” if they tried. Deconstructionism is antithetical to the Christian faith and it is a direct challenge to the authority of Scripture. Reject such appeals and seek first the kingdom of God as He has revealed it to you in His precious, inspired, infallible, inerrant, and all-sufficient Word.

Can Social Justice and the Church Co-Exist?

July 11, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Social justice outrage is very en vogue these days. So much so, that even the professing church in America is becoming infected by this worldview. Social justice advocates argue that there is inequality in America at various levels (income, race, job opportunities, sexual identity, etc). These inequalities are considered to be unjust as it unfairly allows some groups to advance further in life than others. Furthermore, as our nation was found by white, European males, it guarantees a level of privilege to all men of such an ethnic descent. Because these inequalities exist, it is argued that laws must be enacted that will “level the playing field” in order that disenfranchised persons and groups can be elevated in their social status. Of course, this means that anyone of a white, European male lineage must, by necessity, have their status in society lowered so that no inequality will exist.

In the last decade, American culture has seen a massive growth in the interest in social justice. While primarily championed by the Millennial generation, it is not solely owned by them. There are many people, including Generation X and Baby Boomers, who have argued for decades that government expansion is the solution to the social ills our nation faces. Those who are arguing for social justice causes are often quite sincere in their desires to see other persons or groups benefit from a more compassionate society. They genuinely believe that the inequalities that exist are unfair to those affected by them and want little more than to give aid and comfort to such persons. They see their efforts at social justice as being kind and generous to those legitimately in need.

In like manner, social justice advocates see the persons and groups who are believed to have unfairly advanced in society as being the cause of all inequality. Upper-class citizens, CEOs of corporations, political and religious leaders are believed to be the persons who champion maintaining the status quo. Likewise, average citizens who are unwilling to admit they have benefitted from the privilege of their existence, or who refuse to engage in social justice activism, are the willing pawns of the elite who do not want their way of life negatively impacted. Since these groups are engaged in maintaining a system that propagates inequality, they are viewed as an enemy combatant who must either surrender or be defeated. Social justice is seen as a righteous battle that must be won at all costs if humanity is to be rid of oppression and a social utopia be established.

Perhaps some will argue that I have either oversimplified or misrepresented what social justice advocates believe. That is certainly not my intent. I simply wish to convey the concept of social justice in a manner that will be understood by the broadest possible audience. With that said, it should be noted that social justice has become one of the most divisive issues in our current culture. If one endorses social justice, it is the person’s desire to ensure equality in every area of life, no matter how resistant culture may be to the changes required.

Additionally, the further one embraces the concept of social justice, the more one realizes how broad the landscape is with regard to victims of purported injustice. Race, sexual identity, gender, financial disparity, and more are now believed to be all interconnected issues of oppression. To be supportive of one disenfranchised class means that you must be supportive of all. Under the guise of intersectionality, defeating alleged oppression means that you must support any and all persons who believe they have been denied a place at the table based on their professed identity. If you do not seek to end inequality at all levels, then you are part of the problem. This is a never-ending cycle in which no end can ever be truly achieved. Unfortunately, when the basis of success is based upon the subjective determination of one’s feelings, you cannot objectively determine success.

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Less Does Not Equal More

April 18, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Within Evangelicalism, there seems to be a common strain of thought that, while well-intentioned, causes great spiritual harm to our youth. The idea is that, if we give our youth too much biblical teaching, we will somehow cause them to run far away from Christ. The stated argument is that too much exposure to the Word and its teachings will cause the youth to be overwhelmed and want to know nothing about the Lord. We tend to believe that the hard concepts of doctrine and theology are beyond the grasp of young believers and, as such, it is unwise to expect them to learn these essential truths.

This thinking has driven much of our current youth ministry practices. Since doctrine is far too difficult to grasp, and we don’t want the youth to depart the church, we often turn to various forms of entertainment. By making youth groups about games and church lock-ins, we can appeal to kids by showing them we care about how they feel about being at church. If we can sprinkle in some gospel nuggets between pizza parties and gross-out games, we can keep them coming back and maybe, just maybe, they’ll make a profession of faith.

Herein is the problem with the thinking, we already expect our youth to grasp all kinds of big concepts and work hard in other areas of life. How much time do we expect our children to spend doing homework in subjects such as science, languages, history, and math? How many days do they spend practicing baseball, football, soccer, or other sports? Our children can cite movie lines, song lyrics, and television programs by heart. All of these things we willingly allow and support without question. We never argue that doing these things will drive them away from school, sports, or entertainment. In fact, we recognize that a greater commitment results in a greater love and passion for whatever they are working toward. It is only in the arena of biblical education that we erroneously believe that less devotion will magically result in greater godliness.

Now, in all fairness, every person reading this article can attest to how being forced to study a subject in school that they hated didn’t exactly build up a passionate love for the matter. Some of us have painful memories of trying to learn how to apply the quadratic equation, believing we would never use this device of mental torture. Others may remember excruciating hours spent trying to conjugate the verbs of a foreign language, deciding this was all gibberish and everyone just needed to learn English. Clearly, hard work will not always equate to a great love and passion for a subject.

While we would agree that some of us fled these hated classes the moment we were done with them, we can likewise agree that not a single one of us would have absorbed any of the material we learned by mere osmosis. We may not have scored well on the midterms and finals during the year, but we would have utterly failed if we were never taught any of the material, to begin with. Imagine coming into a biology class where the teacher said, “I don’t want to overwhelm you with the detailed explanations of how blood circulation, breathing, and the central nervous system work. I wouldn’t want to scare you away from the possibility that many of you may one day work in the medical and science fields. So, instead of teaching you how biology actually works, we’re going to play some icebreaker games, have pizza parties, and talk about how we think the concept of biology makes us feel.”

I can imagine many of us would have applauded a teacher who never taught us anything and let us goof off all semester. Spending our school hours having gabfests and being able to have more free time in the evenings sans homework would have seemed like Heaven on Earth. But then imagine one more important detail. At the end of the semester, the teacher comes to you with a 20-page final exam. The entirety of your grade is dependent on scoring a completely perfect score. Even missing one question would result in a failing grade. How prepared would you be when faced with such a daunting and detailed test? If your teacher spent all year letting you do little to no work, but then expected you to have mastered the subject in detail, how fair would you believe that scenario to be? Would you not argue that your teacher utterly failed you by doing nothing to teach you all that you needed to know? Does his fear of driving you away from subject seem reasonable when weighed against the outcome of the actuality of test before you? If you have an ounce of rationality, you would have to agree that something is profoundly wrong with a teacher unwilling to prepare his students for what was about to come.

The truth is, this what we are doing in the Church with our youth. We claim that we are actually helping our kids love God by failing to teach them His Word. But there is a final judgment coming that they are woefully unprepared for. The difference is, however, if they get God wrong, they don’t just get a failing grade, they will end up in the fires of Hell. No, I’m not being overly dramatic here. There is only one means of salvation, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is His gospel message – the propitiatory death, burial and resurrection of Christ – that makes a person in right standing with God. There is no makeup exam, there is no extra credit. If a person remains outside of repentance and faith in Christ alone, then they are dead in their trespasses and sins. If someone dies outside the salvific work of Christ, there is no forgiveness for those sins. That means, if our youth go to the grave without Christ, then they are going to Hell. That is fact. That is not being overly dramatic. When we fail to teach our youth the truth of God’s Word, we are actually helping them pave the road to Hell to make the trip more comfortable.

God’s Word is clear that we are to teach our children diligently His word. As they prepared to enter the land of Israel, God spoke to the Jews saying:

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Dt 6:4–9, ESV, emphasis added).

The Jews were to make it a constant, daily effort to be teaching their children God’s Word. We are not exempt from this command just because we are in the New Testament church.
In Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul writes:

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph 6:1–4, ESV, emphasis added).

It is evident that God is very interested in His people rightly bringing up their children to know and obey His Word.

In Proverbs 1, King Solomon writes to his son:

“To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Pr 1:2–7, ESV, emphasis added).

It is the clarion call of the Word that we ought to desire to know and fear the Lord, which comes directly from the study of the Bible.

Repeatedly, we are commanded throughout the Scriptures to make the spiritual and biblical education of our children a priority in our lives. It is only through diligent teaching and study that they can come to know and understand the God to whom they owe their very existence. While Romans 1 makes it clear that all mankind knows God exists through creation and conscience, they can only come to know His direct revelations of Himself through His Word. No person can truly understand the God of the universe, and their desperate need for His forgiveness, outside of the Scriptures that His Holy Spirit moved on men to write. Thus, it is imperative that we make a diligent effort to teach them all that the Scriptures say.

It should also be said that this is a duty that primarily falls to the parents, not solely the Sunday School teachers in our local church building. When we look at the commands of the both the Old and New Testaments, God commands His followers to speak of His Word to their children on a daily basis. This is not to be reserved for one hour, once a week, apart from their families. This is a task that we, as parents, are to make part of our constant instruction and correction in their lives. Consider this: we spend countless hours teaching our children from the moment they are born. We teach them sounds, words, colors, how to walk, how to run, how to dress, how to bathe, how to catch a ball, how to eat, how to be respectful to others, etc, etc. We never consider that those important, daily tasks ought to be delegated to another person. It is our natural inclination to raise them in all these areas. Likewise, their spiritual development ought to be as important to us as making sure they know to check both ways before crossing the street, or to not put a fork in the outlet. We want our children to be safe, so we teach them the dangers that exist which can hurt or kill them. In like manner, there are spiritual beliefs that can kill them for eternity. Their spiritual safety should be as important, if not more so, as their physical safety is to us.

This being the case, we have the opportunity to speak the truth of God’s Word into their lives daily. This does not mean we need to use every spare moment to give our kids a seminary level education on the finest points of doctrine. Rather, we can use opportunities throughout their days to point them back to the fact God’s Word speak authoritatively on all kinds of issues. Sibling rivalry can be a chance to teach that we are to esteem others over ourselves. Struggling with science in school can be an opportunity to talk about how God created everything precisely, which reveals there is a divine Creator, whom we ought to love and obey. Catching our beloved progeny in an act of lying or thievery gives us the moment in which we can talk about sin and condemnation, yet point to the cross of Calvary where there is remission for sins.

If we as parents would spend our days reading, praying, studying and teaching with our children diligently, they would come to know that their Father in Heaven is an amazing God through whom they can find mercy and forgiveness. Yet, He is also a just and holy God who will not withhold His judgment if we do not come to Him in the manner He has prescribed.

Can teaching our children this way cause them to fear God? Yes, absolutely. Might they even flee from a God who will judge their sins? Yes, they may indeed. But if we do not rightly teach them the truth of this God, then something distinctly worse could happen. They may fashion a god of their own choosing in their minds, one not based on what Scripture teaches. This is the sin of idolatry. They may live their lives in a false peace believing this god is absolutely fine with their sinfulness. A god who is good with them the way they are, never making demands of them, letting them live however they choose. Then, one day, they will meet the true God face to face, and find Him saying, “depart from me, I never knew you.” What a horrible fate that would be.

They may also fashion a false image of God, a caricature whom they can cast strawmen in front of that they may reject Him easily. If we do not know of the true God by the diligent study of Scripture, it is easy to fall prey to our sinful arrogance and paint God as someone we have no duty to love or obey. Our children then are free to follow the claims of this world who state that God is mean, spiteful, prideful and worthy only of rejection. While still an idolatrous view of God, it is one that makes it possible to reject Him out of hand, without any real need to examine what He has revealed about Himself. This too will result in their condemnation on the day of judgment.

Only by teaching our children the truth of the Word of God can they rightly know Him. We want them to come to Christ with a right understanding of their sin and His offer of salvation. While the message of the gospel is a simple one, it costs a person everything to obtain the forgiveness it offers. Our youth may reject God even when they know all He has revealed of Himself, there is no denying this. But one cannot be manipulated into salvation by being presented a god and a gospel that does not exist. Any profession of faith that is based on a false view of God is likely to produce only a false convert who will one day fall away. Therefore, it is imperative that we rightly present the true God and the true gospel. Perhaps we may not see an immediate profession of faith, but salvation is of the Lord. He will redeem all who will be saved in His timing, not ours. We must trust that His command to teach His revealed Word in its entirety will produce the result He wants, not that which seem to produce the outcome we want the most quickly.

In summation, less does not equal more. We do no favors to our youth by giving them less doctrine and theology. By denying them the full counsel of God, we will not make them fall more in love with God. The truth is that all we are doing is setting them up to fail before a holy and righteous God who will one day judge them for their sins. If we do not teach them all that is true and to flee from the wrath to come, well, Jesus had a warning we ought to remember: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18: 5-6, ESV).

You Will Never Make Lamb Chops Out of Goat Meat

March 26, 2016 / / 3 Comments

Sometimes, a comment or post comes across your screen and you can’t help but want to respond. This is the case for me now. While there is much floating around cyber-space that is nowhere close to biblical, this one really got my goat, so to speak.

We see it everywhere (at least some of us do), so much within American Evangelicalism that has gone off the rails. It’s even worse when the derailment is perpetuated by so called leaders within the Christian Community.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you one of the many problems within American Evangelicalism, “Goat Herding.”

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The Danger of The Christian Social Media Star

November 6, 2015 / / 4 Comments

spotlightWe Christians can be an interesting lot. As much as we see ourselves as not being a part of this world, far too often we think, look, and act just like it. It wasn’t long ago that I made the strategic error of entering into a Twitter discussion between professing Christians. Wisdom should have taught me better by now, but sometimes I just don’t listen to those klaxon warning sirens going off in my skull. I’ll spare you the details of the discussion, but suffice it to say that I simply attempted to defend a professing Christian who still had an old post on their Twitter page that was, shall we say, less than Christian. The person in question claimed it was from a time when they were not a Christian. I simply defended that, given their statement, I was willing to give benefit of the doubt and not see it as reflective of their current profession.

Now, you’d think a person would appreciate being defended. You would think. However, this person not only did not show gratitude, but accused me of pride because I used the phrase “I am willing,” stating that somehow, in some sort of warped perception, I was taking the place of God in His judgment seat. Given their irrational response, I attempted to heed the warning sirens in my skull and bow out. Sadly, I ended up blocking the person I was trying to defend because they simply showed a lack of wisdom and maturity. Yet, the issue did not end there. Another professing Christian, who apparently was a fan of the less than mature, and now blocked, Twitterite, decided to lecture me and defend his social media darling. Once again, the block button became rather useful.

The point of this trip down memory lane isn’t to regale you with less that logical behavior of immature Christians, far from it. When I walked away from that conversation, I realized that this was not the first I had watched a professing Christian act in less than a charitable manner. Nor was it the first time I had watched an irrational defense of someone simply because the defender could not fathom their “star” as having done anything wrong.

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