God's Plan "A"...

NB:  The title is a misnomer because God only has one plan and it will take place (cf. Isa. 14:24,27; 46:10; Job 42:2)--He needs no Plan B!


Doris Day's song "Que Sera, Sera" in which she sings, "...What will be, will be, The future's not ours to see, What will be, will be, Que sera, sera..." is a resignation that you have to have a philosophy of a "stiff upper lip" or "grin and bear it,"no matter what--let the chips fall where they may! You must become more adaptable and learn to roll with the punches, they say.  But we have a loving God who knows us personally and is involved on a personal level with us as individuals, and we don't have to be stoical, but can cheerful and rejoice in all circumstances, knowing that we can bring glory to God and "all things work together for good" as it says in Romans 8:28.  God will never overwhelm us and let us be tempted above our ability to resist: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you..." (Isaiah 43:2, ESV).  "...[H]e will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.." (1 Cor. 10:13, ESV).

We don't have to be discouraged that we have messed up our lives beyond repair because God is in control and took all our shortcomings and failures into account when He thought up our destiny out of the top of His head before we were created.  We don't have a fate that cannot be altered by our volition, but a destiny that we will willingly comply and cooperate with to complete.  If our destiny is to be a maestro, we must work at it with all our might.  David says in Psalm 31:15 (NASB):  "My times are in Your hand...."  Another rendering would be "My future is in [God's] hands."

Everything happens according to God's timetable and timeline, not ours; for this reason, we ought always to be patient, awaiting His time:  "There is an appointed time for everything  And there is a time for every event under heaven...He has made everything appropriate [or beautiful] in its time..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1,11, NASB).  We have a future and a hope according to Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB) because God has a specific plan tailored for each of us:  "For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."


It is beyond comprehension, but in God's profundity that we cannot ever fully apprehend (even in eternity), that God wrote out in his plans all the days of our lives just how they should transpire:  "...and in Your book were all written / The days that were ordained for me, / When as yet there was not one of them" (Psalm 139:16, NASB).  This may be termed the providence of God and the Puritans referred to it quite frequently, and even Lincoln did after his conversion, but it was not rhetorical but another way of referring to the sovereignty of God over all details, small and great in our lives.

John Wycliffe's tenet:  "All things come to pass of necessity" and Ephesians 1:11, says, "He accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will," or "...works all things according to the counsel of His will" (NASB). Nothing happens that God does not direct or permit (He knows even what could be and took that into consideration), using either vessel of honor or dishonor--the good or the evil.  It seems like He uses evil more, but there is so much more of it to make use of!   God's will be done, with or without our cooperation, either willingly or unwillingly, because He is sovereign, and He wouldn't be God if He weren't in control of everything, and that means there are no maverick molecules in the cosmos beyond His sovereign watchful eye.

God has no Plan B (in fact we shouldn't even label His plans, for God needs no backup plan) and we didn't mess Him up. frustrate, or thwart Him by our sin or evil, but He works through and despite it.  In the kingdom of God in eternity His will be done on earth as it is in heaven (willingly and cheerfully).  It is never too late to do God's will or "get your act together" if you will pardon the expression, and get with the program!  The eleventh-hour prophet can accomplish as much as the one who has worked all his life if God is with him.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Protestant In Name Only

Dare to disagree and express your views or interpretations!  Dare to be different and be a Daniel who stood up against the whole government and defied it or like Dietrich Bonhoeffer who attempted an assassination of Adolf Hitler as a double-agent, and was martyred by the Nazis for his faith and dissent.  They were Protestants in spirit who learned to think for themselves and didn't blindly follow the leaders but knew their God personally.

Will the real Protestant stand up, and be counted, please! Protestants are called that because they protest!   Protestants are born to question authority and to check things out for themselves, not taking some one's word for it, no matter who he is; having a personal and not a second-hand knowledge of the Lord.  It's time to show your Christian colors! What then is the essence of being Protestant and why is this an issue in today's evangelical church?

The issue is how can we end up being Catholics in practice while calling ourselves Protestant.  The branch of Christianity known as Protestant includes a lot of denominations, but they tend to all agree that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone (this is known as sola gratia, sola fide, and solus Christus in Latin as 3 of the five so-called "Five Onlys" of the Reformation), without any merit or work on our part to contribute to it--this is essential acquiescence on soteriology or the doctrine of salvation.  But there is more to it that than:  Martin Luther started the movement in 1517 at the Wittenberg Castle Church door where he nailed his 95 Theses on Halloween, and basically announced to the Church and declared, "I dissent, I disagree, I protest!"  He had been awakened from his dogmatic slumber and was ready to reform the Church.

There has to be room for disagreement in an agreeable and civil manner amount church members or it becomes cult-like as the People's Temple (the "cult of death") of Jim Jones that was based on his personality--the people saw no more need for their Bibles since they had him in person!  We need to be ever vigilant and be Bereans who daily search the Scriptures to see whether these things our pastors and teachers tell us are so.  This is the noble thing to do and God expects it of responsible congregants. Having room for disagreement and agreeing to disagree is healthy and show life in a church body, and is not the beginning of the end.  There is a time to go your separate ways, of course, like Paul and Barnabas disagreeing about Mark's worthiness, but we should be able to work out most disagreements.

The typical Protestant attending church today doesn't study or sufficiently read his Bible, but believes everything his church tells him and follows with a blind faith, not knowing why.  One Protestant said he doesn't even believe in the infallibility of Scripture anymore, but insisted Christ was still his Lord. This begged the question: "How does He exercise His Lordship?"  The person in question said, "By following the teachings of the church." This so-called nominal Protestant has come full circle and is really a Catholic who believes only the clergy has the authority to interpret Scripture and one mustn't question authority.

One distinction of Catholics is that they adhere to time-honored traditions as to have equal authority with Scripture (since the decree in the Council of Trent from 1545-63), while a Protestant is open to new ideas and experimental--not religious or slave to traditions such as the Rosary--and has a personal relationship with Christ as a priest and doesn't need one to make confession to on a regular basis.  There is nothing inherently wrong with tradition as long as it complies with tradition but it can get in the way and become a distraction to the real thing.  Catholics defer to tradition, without question!

We don't want a church that is run by control freaks or old fuddy-duddies who are set in their ways and are satisfied in the comfort zones with the status quo.  Old habits die hard and we constantly need the input of new and young blood to keep a church alive and from dying off and becoming irrelevant. We need new ideas and must never stop reforming the church we attend because one of the slogans of the Reformation was semper reformanda in Latin, or always be reforming. We see ourselves as works in progress and like to say that God isn't finished with us yet, but have a hard time saying the same about our church, that it is also a work in progress and in need of sanctification and reform--Martin Luther knew that he had not finished reforming the Church of its Catholic influence of the Popes. And we should never be "at ease in Zion" (cf. Amos 6:1) or settle in complacency and think we have arrived as a church body and need no improvement.  A church without vision will perish spiritually and this means a view into the future and a plan of attack against the devil and his domain.  Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says, "Without a vision, the people perish...."   If you aim at nothing, you will get nothing!  Aim high, because you cannot aim too high--it is better to aim high and almost make it than to aim too low.

The questions should always be asked as to what is the attitude toward disagreement and our member's ideas and concerns treated properly, fairly, and biblically. Why?  Because the sole authority for a Protestant church is the Bible and one of the slogans of the Reformation (one of the five onlys), was sola Scriptura or the Bible alone is the authority and final arbiter, not some church dogma or constitution; the whole point of being Protestant is not to be at the mercy of church dogma and have the freedom to interpret Scripture on your own--but with this responsibility comes the responsibility to do it correctly--because with every privilege comes the complementary responsibility that goes hand in hand with it as its flip side.  This goes with any right you have, you also have an obligation as the flip side!  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Plumb Line That Counts

What is the true measure of our spirituality? Is it a numbers game or a matter of statistics (my Bible study has more attendees than yours!)?  Is God pleased with emotion or with faith?  Don't keep score like life is a sport or game!  Don't keep track of credits and debits, if you will, as in a ledger-book mentality!  Should we size up our competition, like some women are wont to do? Should we ever be jealous of someone else's gift (this is called gift-envy)?  Should we compare ourselves with ourselves and see if we fall short of some self-imposed standard of so-called perfection?  Paul says in 2 Cor. 10:12 (NASB) the following in this regard:  "For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding." We can think pretty highly of ourselves if we are the standard (but we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought per Romans 12:3).

But the plumb line, which is used by construction workers to verify a wall is vertical, is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit's power to convict and the ultimate judge is Jesus Himself. We are to mind our own business and not worry or fret about what Christ is doing in our brother's spiritual life the way Peter wondered about John after the resurrection and Jesus said, "What is that to you?"  We don't know the will of God for someone else or their calling and maybe not even our own, no one knows the complete will of God for their whole life--we are to live day by day and one day at a time.

The Word of God is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword... according to Hebrews 4:12.  That is why God's will is not laid down all at once and we are to abide by it and let it be our very life.  Jesus said that we are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God in the same vein.  The problematic scenario occurs when a weak brother thinks he is superior because of his standards and ends up judging others or looking down on them from his narrow interpretation of Scripture.  In other words, you can always find someone to look down on and feel superior to and make you feel good.

But Jesus is the standard and direction is the test; therefore it is written:  "Be ye perfect even as your heavenly Father is perfect."  What direction are you going (you are either gaining ground or losing it, going forward or backward--there is no middle neutral territory where you can tread water, so to speak); therefore, it is likened to walking because you can walk backwards or forwards, but not in one place or standing still!

We are progressing if we are faithful to our individual calling and spiritual gift and fulfill the ministry (yes we all have a ministry of reconciliation according to 2 Cor. 5:18) that God has given us.  Jesus said,  "He who is faithful in little, shall be faithful in much." If we are not faithful in marriage, as someone in our care, how are we to be faithful with bigger and better things?  If God has entrusted you with lots of money, it could be a test to see if the real treasures of the spiritual kingdom can be entrusted to you--for this life is just a staging area, a preschool, a rehearsal, or a trial run for eternity and meant to be lived out in light of eternity.

What amazes me is that there are Christians who are relatively ignorant doctrinally and quite wise in knowing their God and in having a personal "hands-on" relationship with Him from encounters in the "real world."  There are seminary graduates who are literally scholars and hardly know their Lord at all, for it is all second-hand knowledge and little hands on real experience in the trench warfare of real life and have O.J.T. or on-the-job training in the spiritual battle of the Christian pilgrimage to maturity.  The goal is not to see how much we know, but how much we sow!

It may seem like we are unimportant and have a position of lowlife, but in Christ, we have true dignity.  We are all members of the body, and each individual members thereof--each with a unique gift and purpose to fulfill.  No one can say he doesn't need another member of the body!  What matters is not what part we are, but whether we are faithful and do it in the Spirit or not--God isn't against works, just against ones done in the flesh.  When we sow it is a win-win situation for us because whether the person accepts or rejects, we are obeying God and doing our part to fulfill the Great Commission.  One may plant or sow, another water or cultivate, and finally another may reap the rewards; however, remember God gave the increase and we owe it all to Him.

We are to be faithful in what we do know and not think we have to know all the answers or have expertise in the Bible to be mature because the Bible wasn't written to increase our knowledge, but change our lives.  Much of our learning should be trial and error and, even though it is best to learn from the Bible, we may end up learning the hard way by experience or the school of hard knocks. Paul said that he doesn't even judge himself, and he is correct because only Jesus sees the Big Picture of our whole contribution to His plan for our life.  This is why it is said that some who are first shall be last and some last, first, simply because we are not in a position to judge or measure our brothers and see their progress, and some are getting their reward in the here and now, while others will go to their reward in eternity.

Jeremiah 23:29 says that God's Word is like fire and a hammer because it can penetrate our souls and see the real person we are; likewise Hebrews 4:12 says it is like a two-edged sword because it can pierce between our soul and spirit.  The Bible is not true, it is truth and there is a distinction.  Only truth transforms, not being true. Jesus didn't say He was true, but truth.  Knowing Him is knowing the truth, and it is knowable in spite of Pilate saying, "What is truth?"  Absolute truth exists and we are to realize that it is our life and it is life-giving.  As we read the Bible, it reads us!  We are revealed for what we are and cannot be ingenuous to the Truth.

Case in point:  One believer may seem to be doing demeaning and servile work, but God is only testing his humility and meekness!  Remember, the way up is down!  John the Baptist uttered:  "He must increase, I [my ego] must decrease"  (John 3:30.  Our crosses pale in comparison to others and no cross means no crown.  The test of your greatness is not how many people serve you, but how many people you serve!  In God's economy, the world seems topsy-turvy!  It is said that the poor of this world will rule the rich in the life to come--there is some truth to that, for it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, so don't get too attached to it or at home--this is not our home.

 Our judgment will be at the bema or the Judgment Seat of Christ in eternity where our deeds done in the flesh will be judged, no our sins, not at the judgment of the condemned at the Great White Throne Judgment after the 1,000-year reign of Christ.  Find peace in the fact that the only canon that counts is Christ's; it doesn't matter what others think--Jesus' plumb line is the only one that validates and as the final or ultimate arbiter.

If we get away from the Bible we are entering dangerous territory where we don't have the enlightening ministry of the Spirit in our lives and will experience many unnecessary pitfalls due to our negligence--believe me it doesn't pay and you can't ever make up for lost ground--opportunities lost can never be regained.  "A wise person is hungry for the truth, while the fool feeds on trash" (Prov. 15:14).  We should aim to love the Word of God and make it our joy and delight to feed on it as Jeremiah did:  "...And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart..." (Jeremiah 15:16, NASB).  Thy Word was found, and I did eat it, and it became to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart."  The psalmist in Psalm 119:97 says that he loves the Word so much he meditates on it all day long!  

Our growth parallels our relationship to the Word as to how we allot our time according to the opportunities given us.  Some people love Shakespeare, but it is quite another thing to love the Word of God enough to want to be in it on a regular basis--but this takes maturity and is not an automatic fruit of salvation,  The infant believer longs for the pure milk of the Word (cf. 1 Peter 2:2). "Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble" (Psalm 119:165, NASB).  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Necessity Of A Biblical Worldview

NOTE THAT THIS BLOG PERTAINS TO WORLDVIEW AND IS ALSO POSTED ON MY OTHER BLOG @ www.christ-centeredworldview.blogspot.com/    IT IS A SAMPLE OF MY WORK IN THIS FIELD.

"Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred..." (1 Chronicles 12:32, NASB).

"... [A] people without understanding shall come to ruin" (Hosea 4:14, ESV).

C. S. Lewis, the literary apologist who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity, said we must defend our worldview and not lose by default or neglect---in other words, we must have the answers and be prepared for spiritual battle. Lewis also says "[we] must show our Christian colours, if we are to be true to Jesus Christ.  We cannot remain silent and concede everything away."  We must dare to be "Daniels" willing to get into the action and not stand aside and merely passively observe.  We cannot remain neutral, for that is a stand against Christ and His truth. Matthew 12:30 says:  "He that is not with Me is against Me."

The Judeo-Christian mindset has not failed, it has not been defended, but abandoned.  The dual problem is that many do not know why they believe, nor even what they believe! Our mission: Get the truth out there and propagated in a culture that is convinced that "truth is a short-term contract," but there is absolute truth!  But it is not all relevant. We must all be responsible to disseminate what light God has given us. The ramifications of being remiss or negligent are a nation devoid of divine viewpoint and being hijacked by fanatical or fringe movements, using God to promote their agenda, and possibly even the ultimate surrender to secular thinking, and the elimination of Christian input in toto into the public square could transpire, i.e., be muzzling our freedom of speech!

What is a worldview (commonly referred to as Weltanschauung, the German terminology)? Opinions are something you hold, while convictions hold you:  It is the sum total of your convictions and why you see a life worth living or something worth dying for. It has been said that it usually answers the queries:  "Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?" Your worldview helps you explain God (or explain Him away), your world, and the relationship between the two as to how they relate individually and as a society. In sum, your outlook on life.  In essence, we have a theory of the world and God, and how we relate to them, according to the dictionary. This is a vital discipline because kids are going to college ill-prepared when there's a war of ideas going on, and too many need to get their thinking straightened out (cf. 2 Cor. 10:5:  "... [Bringing] every thought [or viewpoint] into captivity to the obedience of Christ").  So how do you interpret reality?

To answer these questions from the viewpoint or perspective of Secular Humanism, they leave God out of the equation and explain away the supernatural, only believing in the observable and rational, and leaving the universal language of science and consensus to figure out all the answers.  Science has become a religion--or "scientism" and making value judgments, (as Carl Sagan, the 1981 recipient of the Humanist of the Year award, according to my source, said, "The cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be"--this is out of the realm, scope, and domain of science).   More people believe in the theory of evolution (which is unproven and "unprovable") as religious dogma and scientific fact, and this is the Big Lie. Dr. Karl Popper says that evolution does not fit the definition of a scientific theory.

But Evolution is the building block of Secular Humanism and this belief system has no place for God in the Picture. This is the predominant worldview today in academia and we cannot remain silent and concede everything away, according to C. S. Lewis, again. Humanism has been around since antiquity and was known as "man as the measure of all things" (define and begin all reality with man, not God) and it was called Homo mensura--deifying man and dethroning God. They see all religion as just chasing some "pie in the sky," and believe in living for the "here and now," without living in the light of eternity.

According to scholar and theologian Carl F. H. Henry, Christianity speaks to all academic disciplines and is relevant to all facets of life, not just having a personal relationship with God. There is a struggle for student allegiance in the school system and atheism has been declared a religion by the Seventh Court of Appeals in 2005. Humanism was defined in a book Religion Without Revelation by Julian Huxley. In A Common Faith, John Dewey sees the Secular Humanist movement as having the elements of a religion. They say that children's minds should be kept open, but they proceed to brainwash them.  A. Solzhenitsyn has said that "man has forgotten God," and Friedrich Nietzsche (the patron saint of Postmodernism) said "God is dead." meaning that He is "no longer believable."  Will Durant has well said, "The greatest question of our time is whether man can live without God." A current politician has said he would "keep God out of it."

You either must begin with man and explain the cosmos, or begin with God and explain the cosmos. This begs the question:  What was in the beginning?  "In the beginning God," or "In the beginning matter."  Which created which? Do matter and energy have inherent power and intelligence to fix all the more than 50 constants in our cosmos and make life suitable for us, known as the Anthropic Principle, or the fine-tuning of our planet for human life?  Athanasius, one of the Church Fathers, said that the only system of thought that Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point. The false assumption that science makes is that Christianity is anti-science:  In fact, it made possible modern science in the first place and is the "Mother of Modern Science!  Many good scientists have been and are Christians.

Shakespeare said it well, concerning our meaning in life apart from God in Macbeth as he mused about the entirety of living:  "...['Tis] a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing."  R. C. Sproul said in the same vein:  "With God we have dignity and without God we have nothing."  When you insert God into your thinking you can explain reality and find meaning to it. Bertrand Russell restated it well, "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."  Life is nonsensical without reference to God!

The biggest challenge Secular Humanism faces is the word "purpose" (and its corollary "meaning"), or the study of it known as teleology (from telos for a purpose).  The word seems almost theological to them in nature.  There is indeed a war of "isms" and the battleground is the mindset of a whole generation that is apathetic toward them in their interpretive framework.  The bottom line is that these "isms" have consequences.

It was the proponents of Secular Humanism that bemoaned the fact that children's minds weren't kept open when evolution was a forbidden subject in school; now they refuse to even let Creationism have equal time, though there is plenty of evidence, so that lack of evidence presents no excuse for denying it. We need to keep God in the public arena and defend the Christian worldview in the public square wherever possible, not letting Secular Humanism eradicate it or make it irrelevant. (They believe religion is acceptable as long as it is "privatized.")

"If there is no God," Fyodor Dostoyevsky's dictum goes, "everything is permissible," and up for and up for grabs, and we are without a moral compass--if we are animals, why not act like them?  (Morals are then subjective and only a matter of personal conviction.)  Some believe values are just a matter of public consensus--justifying Nazism and Communism!  Listen to the New Age definition of it: "Morality is a nebulous thing; listen to the God within!" And if it feels like the truth, it is. Postmodernists say that it can be right for you, but not someone else. They dodge the morality issues. Compare this idea to the situation described in Judges 21:25 (ESV):  "... [Everyone] did what was right in their own eyes."  All we need to know is that God is the moral center of the universe! A theologian Karl Barth, focused on Christians who are religious, but not righteous--and decried this as a natural fruit of this way of thinking.

We need to separate the wheat from the chaff, ascertaining the truth from the fiction.  "My people perish for lack of knowledge"  (Hosea 4:14).  Note well: "Knowledge is power," said Sir Francis Bacon (cf. Prov. 24:5). "For lack of knowledge My people go into exile" (Is. 5:13).  1 Chronicles 12:32 says we need people who can interpret the times and know what to do.   Our faith is "defensible" and we must meet the challenge and not lose by negligence or default.  If we are versed in our worldview we will realize it outshines every other one.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Mouthing It And Doing It

   "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to  God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that openly profess his name"  (Hebrews 13:15, NIV).

Efficacious praise is more than lip-service.  It is deeper than the phrase connotes--it is only in actively doing it that one really praises the Lord, not in the mere saying of it:

It is one thing to say "Praise the Lord" and quite another to make good on it or make it a reality. Alleluia is the Greek, and Hallelujah is the Hebrew for "praise the Lord," which is commonly said. This word is commonplace in our hymns and must be understood, not just be an empty phrase.   Has the expression become trite or hackneyed to you, and have little spiritual impact on your spirit?  It is imperative to say "Praise the Lord!"  and in the indicative mood when you realize it--or a declarative statement.  "Praise the Lord!" is a command; while "I Praise the Lord!" is worship (but, for what or why?).  Analogous would be saying, "Thank God!" and then thanking Him in a prayer of thanksgiving for something specific.  Viva la difference! 

But some people just go through the motions in their worship--they have memorized the Dance of the Pious. We say "I love you, let me count the ways!" And we exalt God I worship Him" and mean it from the bottom of our heart; we shouldn't just utter the words thinking that that satisfies (us or God)--we are meant to worship and are only fulfilled in doing it unto our God who made us this way.  Don't just say it--do it! There are many ways to praise the Lord according to Psalm 150 and many reasons to elicit praise.  It is the proper thing to do to offer the Lord His due, and pay homage to the One we adore.  When we learn to respect and honor is one thing; however, to learn, in turn, to apply it to God is another.

How do we praise Him?  Our lives are a witness to His glory and our testimonies are giving Him the honor he deserves.  For only God is worthy of our praise, but man will praise something or someone if not God.  "Let's just praise the Lord!"  We must be discerning to manifest the many ways this can be accomplished.  The Bible says that infants can praise the Lord in Psalm 8, and the firmament shows His handiwork in Psalm 19.  Everything in creation is meant to bring glory to God (Isaiah 43:7 says we were created for His glory!).  God even makes the wrath of man to bring Him praise according to Psalm 76:10!  God indeed allows all to happen for His own purposes and to ultimately bring Him the utmost glory, His chief end.  If you want to see the glory of God, just look in a mirror and see the intricate design that God made and then behold the beauty of the Lord in all creation; for there can be no art without an artist.  God cares a lot about beauty because He made so much of it--is is manifested in manifold ways.

It is one thing to just say the phrase, and quite another to sing it or shout it--that form of expression is inherently praiseworthy.  In other words, it isn't just what we say all the time, but how we say it that makes it meaningful.  An analogy would be the man who just says he loves His wife, but never manifests or proves it or makes good on it in the display. Of course, he ought to say it, but if he means it his conduct will prove it.  Sure the words are important, but we must love not only in word but in deed and in truth.  Likewise, we can say "Praise the Lord" but do we mean it?   As a witness to others, bringing up the fact that you worship God does bring God glory because people are made God-conscious.  I used to hang around a bunch of Christians who constantly used this expression and meant what they said.  It is like saying Amen all the time to acknowledge the truth and agreement with a spiritual truth.  These believers said it with such enthusiasm and expression and the right demeanor that it was contagious!

Let's just think of many things to praise the Lord for His provision; His providence; His protection; His blessing;  His presence; His name!  I could go on, but we thank God for what He's done and just praise Him for what He is and what He does.  Psalm 100 says we are to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!   "I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised..." (Psalm 18:3, ESV).  "... Shout unto God with the voice of triumph [for this praises God]"  (Psalm 47:1, KJV).

When we brag about someone or report the good deeds we are praising them, it is about time we do likewise to God and give credit where credit is due,   "Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints..."(Psalm 30:4, ESV).  This means we should worship God in song as well as in our speech--praise is another word for blessing and glorifying someone.  Hail God, in other words!  We worship and adore Him with all our being and want to celebrate it and pass it on.  Once you've experienced authentic praise to God you want to spread the word and pass it on, because it is contagious.   I can relate to David in Psalm 34 (ESV) saying, "I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth."  There is power in praise and it is the way to reach out to God and enter His presence. The most joyful believers are those who have learned to praise unashamedly.

Whenever you turn a person away from the human way of thinking to the divine viewpoint, you have praised the Lord because God is honored by it.  Worship is praise.   "... Praise the LORD, O my soul? I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being" (Psalm 146:1-2, ESV).  It is paramount that we praise Him in His sanctuary and when we are gathered together in His name; in fact, it is commanded.   Let us extol and lift up the name of the Lord (all that He is and His awesome reputation)!  Worship and songs that glorify Him bring Him praise.     Soli Deo Gloria!

How Low Can You Go?

Salvation is not offered to the highest bidder, or the most qualified, or the most eager, most intelligent, wisest, or moral person; au contraire. Christ doesn't offer to save, He saves!  It goes to the lowest bidder, as it were, the one who realizes he is unqualified, (we can do nothing to qualify or cooperate for our salvation).  We are bad, but not too bad to be saved.  We are as bad off as we can be, but God's grace is as great as can be.  Instead of saying, "God, I'm not that bad after all!" we need to say, "Lord, I have done nothing to deserve salvation, and You would be just to sentence me to hell, but I appeal to your mercy and grace at Christ's expense on my behalf."

Catholics believe we cooperate with God and somehow merit our salvation of which we are qualified by our faith.  Having faith doesn't qualify us to be saved, but means we are saved and regenerated.  God doesn't elect us because we have faith (that would be merit and a conditional election), but unto faith or to grant us faith.  We can do naught to please God or gain His approbation.  Someone has said, "God must have chosen me before I was born because He sure wouldn't have afterward."  If God chooses us because we have faith or in some way are better than others, then it is not a gift, but a reward.  That would be the institution of merit for salvation.  According to His purpose and grace, He saved us, and not because of anything in us that was good, for there is none good.  No one earns it, deserves it, nor can pay it back!

A person must see himself as a vile sinner who is unworthy of grace and in God's hands, at His mercy, to be saved, he must literally throw himself on the mercy of God, realizing he cannot save himself.  His life has gotten out of control because of his sin and he is convicted by the Holy Spirit of his depraved state.  When I say, "How low can you go?" I mean that you must be humbled to get saved and stop thinking so highly of yourself, that you're an alright guy or good man.  Romans 3:12 says there is none good.

We are enslaved to sin and cannot please God, because our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  When we get saved, we are set free spiritually and have a restored fellowship with God that had been severed at the fall of Adam.  Regeneration makes possible a living faith and repentance and we are completely passive in the process:  Our part is to act upon the faith that God gives us and prove it is genuine.  God's gift, our act!  The worse off you see yourself and the least qualified you think you are, the closer you are to the kingdom of God and it is within your grasp.  Ego can get in the way, but we need to swallow our pride and realize that He must increase, as we decrease.

When we realize it is not about "us" then we have made a spiritual breakthrough and know that it is all about Jesus.  Paul strove to preach Christ, and Christ crucified, not himself.  The more one's thoughts are aimed at Christ to glorify Him the more glory God gets and the more involved the Spirit gets.  It grieves Him to dwell on ourselves and be egocentric or self-centered.

By going low I mean your opinion and judgment of yourself in comparison to others in respect of your sins.  The sinner who prayed, "God be merciful to me, the sinner" in Luke 18:13 was on target when he realized his depravity in God's sight.   Paul thought he was the chief of sinners and John Bunyan wrote, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. That's what grace orientation does to you--it makes you feel unworthy and forever grateful.  Jesus said, "He that is forgiven much [realizes it the most], loves much!   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Difference Jesus Makes

All religions are not basically the same ideals under different wraps, as the Baha'i religion would have you believe.  Even many Americans believe they all pray to the same God under different names!  Some faiths say that all are equally valid beliefs and what matters is what works for you.  But two contradictory views cannot both be equally valid, logically speaking.  The funny thing about religion is that most people are misinformed or uninformed and even have disinformation from propaganda sources that spread their faith by name familiarity or blitzing the public.

For instance, did you know that Buddha (Enlightened One) never claimed to be God or even a god, but was an agnostic who only sought enlightenment;  saying that if there was a God, He couldn't help you with finding enlightenment, you must find it on your own--by the way, Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) only sought to reform Hinduism and not start a new faith that is the predominant worldview of the Orient religion-wise.  In contrast:  Jesus said, "[And] you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free"  (John 8:32, ESV). He is the embodiment and epitome of truth to be known in Him.

Every faith has its own idea of who Christ is:  Mormons believe He achieved godhood or became a god and is our elder brother; Buddhists just believe He was another enlightened teacher; Jews believe He was a gifted, miracle-working, misunderstood, but deceiving rabbi; Muslims believe he was a great prophet and even the Messiah, but lower in rank than Muhammad himself, who is the greatest and final prophet. Jehovah's Witnesses see Him as the first created being and a lesser God, worthy of worship though; even Scholars believe He is someone special, even if a great moral example or ethical person who died a martyr for a good cause. The point is that if you don't figure out who Jesus is, you are in heresy.  "Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God..." (2 John 9).  So who is He?   He is the one and only Son of God, co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent with God the Father.

Buddhists believe in going ultimately to nirvana or being snuffed out like a match in the ocean or candle on a birthday cake when they die. Achieving nirvana is likened to total nothingness:  They refer to the extinction of all desire which leads to the cessation of pain and suffering caused by it, via many reincarnations.  The Hindus, on the other hand, see nirvana as a reunion with Brahma, after numerous reincarnations or transmigrations.  Hindus are pantheistic (all is God) and have many gods (thousands--no one knows for sure!) and for this reason, are also polytheistic. Jesus was real in saying He was going to prepare a "place for us" and heaven is a real place in Christianity, not of man's imagination, such as the paradise of Islam, where they get 72 virgins and live a life of wine, women, and song for eternity because they abstained from this on earth.  Only heaven is beyond that which we could imagine or conceive and is divinely revealed.  "But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him'" (1 Cor. 2:9, ESV).

The whole point of Christ calling us is to spread the Word of the gospel and increase the kingdom of God, because He said His kingdom is not of this world--however, Muslims believe in world hegemony and have geopolitical considerations in their faith and believe Christ is coming to force everyone into Islam, hence "submission." Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world."  You must be born again to "see" the kingdom of God, and it is like the wind that we don't see, but can see it effects on earth and what it is doing.  God opens our spiritual eyes to His truth in the Word and we are made alive spiritually, restoring our relationship with God--this is true salvation! Because of Jesus' resurrection, we have evidence and proof of our final resurrection, and it is not just pie in the sky without any objective, historical fact to back it up like the competing faiths.

It was Judaism that introduced the world to monotheism and Christianity is the fulfillment (not replacement) of this faith.  Islam believes that their faith supersedes and replaces Christianity and Judaism, not just fulfills them.  Muslims have no assurance of salvation unless they die in a Holy War or Jihad (this is a great recruitment tool and why they are so fanatical and have geopolitical considerations).  The religion, known as the "religion of the sword," is based on total submission, in fact, Islam means "submission." They even circumcise about 75 percent of the girls to make them obedient and docile and do not believe they should be treated equally on a par with men in a man's world shaped by seventh-century ethics and customs.  Girls are not traditionally allowed to even get an education.  Jesus changed all this and saw women as men's equals and partners in life and having the same aptitudes and abilities as men.  They may have a different role, but they are equal.  The woman is the counterpart of the man and his helpmate in Christ--we are all one in Christ!

When you look at all the religions, they all say "do" and are based on works to get salvation.  But you never know in a works religion how much is enough to get saved.  Christ made it possible to know for sure that one is saved and to have this assurance of salvation, which sets Christianity apart from all other faiths.  Christianity is a love affair with Jesus, not a system of ethics, or philosophy, or creed.  It's not a religion, they say, but a relationship with the living God Himself.  Muslims don't acknowledge a personal God that we can know and have a relationship with, and they certainly don't believe God is love, because they see Him as totally arbitrary, capricious, whimsical, and unpredictable, even changing His standards.  They sincerely believe that one angel records their good deeds, and another their bad deeds, and at Judgment Day they will see which balances out the most. One of the biggest mistakes well-meaning and sincere people (but sincerity alone doesn't save--you can be sincerely wrong) is the idea that the essence of Christianity is the Sermon on the Mount or the Golden Rule itself and they only have to sincerely live by a code--Christ didn't come to make bad people good, but dead people alive!

Religion says "in order to" get salvation (works), while Christianity says "therefore (we are already saved and desire to do good deeds to prove it)."  We don't have to do good works but want to, in other words.  Religion is basically a do-it-yourself proposition and a way to "lift yourself up by your own bootstraps." Religion believes you are basically good, capable of reforming yourself, and denies the problem is sin per se.  Only in Christ do we solve the sin problem by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ from the dead.  Religion is the best man can do and is basically man reaching up to God; Christianity, however, is God reaching down to man in grace (love that stoops is called grace).  Christ introduced a new concept called grace that means we can never earn, don't deserve, and cannot repay our salvation.  It is totally a gift of God to be received by faith and there is nothing we can do but believe in Him!  Religion says "do" (respecting good deeds to earn salvation); however, Christ says, "done," because He said on the cross tetelestai or "It is finished [paid in full--finis]."  It is a done deal in Christ--there's nothing to do but accept it.  There's nothing we can do to add to Christ's work on the cross and it would be an insult to God if we tried!  "The work of God is this: to believe in the one whom he has sent"  (John 6:29).

All the major faiths deal with miracles, but you can take the miracles out of them and you still have the religions intact.  Islam doesn't need miracles (recorded only in the Hadith or the traditions dated much later after Muhammad died) and the faith survives without them.  But Christianity is different: Without the miracles of Christ, He would have only remained a footnote in history and the movement would never have gotten off the ground.  If you remove the miracles from Christianity you disembowel it and there is nothing left but a philosophy such as living by the Golden Rule (some actually do have this as their religious dogma or credo).  The miracles of Christ are different from other faiths:  They were never staged, done on-demand, for personal gain or profit, for a show, or done without skeptics present, unlike the other faiths.  Jesus had a reason to do each miracle (really a sign as John called them because they taught a lesson about Him).  They are not helter-skelter or done without rhyme or reason, but methodical and orderly as if prearranged and planned from eternity from the Father.

The whole point of Christ's teachings was that He claimed deity and did so convincingly so that the Pharisees made no mistake in what He was claiming and plotted His crucifixion accordingly.  No other religion's founder claimed deity:  Muhammad just claimed to be the last prophet of mankind, as heard from the angel Gabriel.  Buddha never claimed deity.  Hinduism was founded about the time of Abraham, but it is polytheistic (many gods) and also pantheistic (everything is God), which is almost like saying there is no God in effect.  In all the Scriptures of these faiths, only the Bible claims to be the Word of God propositionally.  Many times it says, "Thus says the LORD"' and so forth--not so in these other "holy" writings. However, there is a distinction in that Christ never prefaced himself in such a way, but audaciously and boldly proclaimed His own edicts and spoke as no man ever spoke with such authority and made claims no man ever made, backed them up with such character never seen and proved them by such signs and miracles never been done, that to doubt Jesus, one can never say there is a lack of evidence to believe, but one must not want to believe out of moral reasons and not because of intellectual reservations. The anti-establishment and nonconformist figure that Jesus was, truly upset the applecart and invaded the turf of the Pharisees and threatened their job security!

Both Hindus and Buddhists also believe in Maya or that reality is an illusion and you cannot bet on it (science never would've developed under such an outlook!). Jesus claimed to be "The Truth," which means we can know reality and count on it and have a personal relationship with the epitome of reality itself--Jesus Christ.   This means there is absolute truth or Truth with a capital "T."  Christ is totally objective (we cannot be), and is true regardless of our belief or doubt and what He said is true regardless of what someone says expert or not. With man there is no such thing as total objectivity and we must rely upon revelation from God to know the truth.

It is primarily a way of life and traditions such as bathing in the Ganges River of India and the caste system are kept religiously by ignorant people. Both Buddhists and Hindus believe in karma or that you are your own island and suffer what you deserve:  If you are suffering, that is your karma and one shouldn't interfere--how different is Christianity that teaches love for our brother, neighbor, and even enemy! Mother Teresa of Calcutta is an example of how Christian love as shown in Hindu India where she ministered to the outcasts and pariahs that no one cared about. Even Bertrand Russell, the renowned British atheist, and mathematician, said that what the world needs "is more Christian love."  Most religions really believe in "looking out for number one" while Christianity shows the world what charity or real godly love is all about (the example of the Good Samaritan, for instance).

The whole purpose of Scripture is not to increase our knowledge or enlighten us (we are not saved by knowledge, secret or otherwise), but the purpose is to change our lives.  We aren't saved by being enlightened or by knowledge per se, but in knowing Jesus.  Jesus makes a person new from the inside out and is in the resurrection business of changing the lives of those who realize their need.  ("I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners unto repentance,"  "... [Those] who are sick need a physician.") Religion is only about reforming yourself and turning over a new leaf, as it were, but they don't give you the supernatural power to do it--you must muster all your own strength. In Christ, we not only have changed lives (even some religion can do that much) but exchanged lives, which is the miracle.

Jesus didn't come to be a wise teacher of morals, or a religious martyr for a movement, but a Savior from the sin virus that affects us all.  In Christianity, we have Jesus living in us to will and to act according to His good purpose (cf. Phil. 2:13).  It is not about imitation, but about inhabitation.  "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). You can say with Paul in Galatians 2:20 that it is no longer you that lives, but Christ that lives in or through you.

With Jesus in the equation, you have a whole new outlook on life and see life with the lens of His truth so you can see the Big Picture of how to interpret world events--life makes sense! Jesus does make a difference! You can too if you know Him!  Viva la difference!  In contrast to other faiths, you can take Buddha out of Buddhism, or Muhammad out of Islam, and you still have the basics of the religion; however, you cannot do this with Christianity--taking Christ out of it leaves nothing left:It would be an empty philosophy without any power to implement it and have promised without any fulfillment. When you factor in Jesus, you find that life is worth living and there is meaning a purpose in living for Him.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Par For The Course

Believers sign up for suffering on behalf of Christ when they get saved.  Philippians 1:29 says that it has been "granted unto us ... to suffer for His sake."  Without suffering or bearing our cross there is no glory.  We are not called to be martyrs (God wants "living sacrifices"), but must be willing if that is God's will for us.  Catholics refer to this as supererogatory or above and beyond the call of duty. They view it as merit that can be transferred to others.  Suffering and adversity make us like Christ and builds character.

As long as there is evil in the world, there will be suffering, but God can make it work out for the good like He did to Joseph in Egypt (cf. Gen. 50:20).  We aren't supposed to be doormats; however, we must learn to persist, for "if we endure, we shall also reign with him," according to 2 Timothy 2:12.  If we suffer for the name of Jesus, we should be joyful that we were "counted worthy." Remember what Jesus said of Paul:  "I will show him what great things he must suffer for My sake." When adversity comes, it has God's permission, even if the devil instigated it.  It is inevitable, and Christ didn't even exempt Himself!  It is like purifying silver:  When you can see your reflection, the impurities are gone. Christ is chipping away everything in us that doesn't resemble Himself, just like a sculptor making something of a rock when he chips away everything that doesn't look like his subject.

Jesus endured more suffering than any man who ever lived on our behalf, but His sufferings are completed through us!   If we know the "why" we can bear almost any "how" in suffering or trials.  Remember, God never promised us a bed of roses.  No cross--no glory!  Paul wanted to "share in His sufferings" or the "fellowship of His sufferings" (cf. Phil. 3:10).  Our crosses pale in comparison to His.  When we suffer, it is so that others don't have to; when we don't have to it's because others have!   Why suffer?  The same sun melts the butter hardens the clay.  The same hammer that breaks glass forges steal.  God doesn't have to explain Himself (consider Job!) and we should thank God for every opportunity our suffering brings to glorify Him.   Suffering is the crucible we all go through in sanctification.  It is not what happens to us, as much as what happens in us, or what we do with it.  "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"  (Job 2:10).  Bad things happen to good people and to bad people as well.  The question should be:  Why do good things happen at all?

We are "transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit"  (2 Cor. 3:18).  This is the way we share in His holiness and learn to love God and relate to Him.  We should have the attitude of Job:  "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold"  (Job 23:10).  Paul said in Romans 5:3 that "we also rejoice in our suffering."

There is a psychological need for "negative stress" because we are not meant to live in luxury or without any problems and attitude determine how we meet the challenge.   One psychiatrist wrote, "Why It Feels So Good to Feel So Bad."   Isaiah knew what he was talking about when he said, "When you pass through the waters I will be with you."  Put out the welcome mat and welcome adversity as a friend and challenge to grow in your relationship, knowing that God is trusting you that you can learn from it.  We cannot avoid it, and if we sin there is divine discipline because it comes with the territory.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Obligatory Obedience Of Discipleship

"[T]hrough whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations"  (Romans 1:5, ESV).
"And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?  So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief [note correlation]"  (Hebrews 3:18-19, ESV). 

Here's an anecdote of a believer who had come full-circle (Is he Catholic or Protestant, or Protestant acting like a Catholic?):  "I don't believe in the infallibility of Scripture anymore, but I still believe in Jesus as my Lord!"/"O how does he exercise His Lordship?"/ "Through the teachings of the Church!" (Who and what is he obeying?)

In the incident with the rich young ruler who said he had obeyed the commandments; however, the ultimate test was whether he would obey the Lord Himself, according to John MacArthur.

The issue is how does Christ extend His authority over us.  We are not to be rule-obsessed like the Pharisees but have a personal link to the Lord, take His yoke of love, and follow His will as the fulfillment of the Law.  The Lord exercises His Lordship over us through the Word (as a check on all other authority), through the body of Christ, and through all legitimate authority (even government, unless civil disobedience is called for out of Scriptural reasons), i.e., we cannot say we obey the Lord if we are disobedient to our superiors who have the rule over us (we submit one to another in the love of Christ) and we are rogues, doing their own thing and going their own way, as it were.

Protestants go a step beyond obedience to the authority of the church over them by obeying the Lord as revealed in Scripture via a personal relationship, i.e., knowing the Lord--unlike the rich young ruler who obeyed rules, but not the Lord Himself.  Protestant means:  I dissent, I disagree, I protest. Protestants are not at the mercy of Church dogma as infallible.

Thinking you can believe without obedience is called easy-believism and its gospel as the no-lordship gospel.  "Christ will not save anyone He cannot command," says A.W. Tozer.  And will not barter away his claim to lordship and ownership of us.  He couldn't be our Savior if He were not Lord of all (cf. Acts 10:36).  John MacArthur says "follow Me" refers to unconditional surrender to His lordship. True salvation is free, but it is not cheap, because the Bible doesn't teach "cheap grace" or "cheap peace," the terminology of this heresy if you will, because it cost God everything to redeem us, and He wants all of us in return. "I call it heresy," says A. W. Tozer about this gospel in vogue that dumbs down and domesticates the biblical evangel.

Obedience ultimately also means submission to authority, but some believers are reluctant to follow suit or go there--we are all under authority in the body of Christ and no one is the man in charge, except Christ Himself.  We have leaders who are also under authority!  "[We] have turned everyone to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6b, ESV).

Since we are creatures and God is our Creator, we owe Him all our obedience by virtue of this alone, whether there is a heaven or not. Even Satan has to obey when commanded and seeks permission for his mischief.  Religious people who simply go through the motions and memorize the Dance of the Pious don't please God by their religiosity.  God seeks obedience from a "noble and good heart."  1 Samuel 15:22 says:  "...Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor who was executed in a concentration camp by the Nazis for his Christian stand, said eloquently and succinctly:  "Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes."  They are linked and correlated and go hand in hand in a complementary manner, they can be distinguished but not separated;  there is no such class of believer who is perpetually or habitually disobedient--obedience is not an option and the Great Commission is not the Great Suggestion!   And we can obey only by the power of Christ working in us (cf. Col. 1:29). God's power is always there to enable us to do His bidding and the power of the Holy Spirit is always on hand to kick in when needed--but we must remember it is His energy not the energy of the flesh. Paul says in Romans 15:18 that he "will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through [him] to bring the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed [actions can speak louder than words and prove our testimony]."

Faith is simply about trust and obedience and learning to walk in them.  I love the hymn "Trust and Obey" which stresses this definition of faith.   Isaiah 1:19 says in one version, "If you consent and obey you shall eat of the best of the land..," and in the NLT, "If you will only obey me and let me help you, then you will have plenty to eat..,"  or "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat of the good of the land... (ESV)." Jesus admonished his disciples in John 14:21:  "He who has my commandments and keeps them [obeys], it is he who loves me."  Part B of the Great Commission is to "obey" or "observe" His teachings or commandments! We are not done when we make a convert, but must train them as disciples or followers of Christ--they must be learners and students in the school of Christ, in which they have matriculated upon salvation.   Jesus' commands are not burdensome according to 1 John 5:3 (compared to the yoke of the Law of Moses), and his burden is light (cf. Matt. 11:29).  Only when we submit to His yoke will we find our Sabbath rest.

Jeremiah 4:8 says that Israel didn't "know the rules of the LORD!"  What does God require?  Deut. 10:12-13 (ESV) says it in a nutshell:  "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statues of the LORD which I am commanding you this day for your good."  One of my favorite verses is Micah 6:8 says:  "Her has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"  This refers to ethics, brotherly relationships, and fellowship with God.  Jesus summed up the deeper requirements of the Law in Matt. 23:23 (ESV) as follows:  "...[And] have neglected the weightier matters of the law:  justice, and mercy, and faithfulness."

The point is that we cannot do the Law nor fulfill its demands, even though Israel promised to do them rather than plead for mercy in Exodus 24:3 (ESV) as follows:  "... All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do [obey again]."  The point of the Law is to point out our sin according to Paul in Romans 3:20 in the Phillips translation:  "Indeed the straightedge of the law shows us how crooked we really are." Other versions render it: "... [F]or by the law is the knowledge of sin;" "... [Since] through the law comes knowledge of sin." C. S. Lewis aptly said that we don't know how bad we are till we've tried to be good, and we can't be good till we know how bad we are!  This is a paradox and worth thinking about, because the closer we get to God, the more we realize our unworthiness and His grace and mercy.  Luther said the Law is a hammer that smashes our righteousness and a mirror that shows our faults.  Why didn't Israel realize that they couldn't keep the Law?  Only Jesus was able to and He did it on our behalf so we don't have to but can have His righteousness imputed to our account and be considered justified (or just as if I'd done it!).

What kind of attitude should we have in obedience?  Deut. 26:16 says, "...You shall be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul."  David says in Psalm 40:8 that he "delights to do [His] will."  We do not obey begrudgingly or because we think we have to, but because we want to; we now have a heart of flesh willing to obey God, instead of a heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26). "... For the love of Christ constrains us" (2 Cor. 5:14). We are not inclined or biased to good anymore and need to be set free, because we are not born free (we are slaves to sin and the sin nature).  Our attitude determines our altitude spiritually and we need constant "attitude checks" or "spiritual check-ups."  We have the choice to choose our attitude and it should be one of joy in suffering because we are counted worthy. We are not free to disobey at will or our discretion, but free to obey the will of God.

According to John MacArthur, faith is manifest in obedience only.  James said, "I will show you my faith by my deeds," while Paul is saying, "I will show you my deeds by faith." We are saved by faith alone, according to the reformers, but not a faith that is alone (that would be antinomianism).   Without deeds our faith is suspect!  The obedience of faith saves, but works are no substitute for faith, because, even though we are not saved by works, we are not saved without them either. Matthew 7:17 says we shall know them by their fruits. We must bear fruit in keeping with our repentance and so prove our faith (cf. Acts 26:20: "... [Performing] deeds in keeping with their repentance"). Luke 3:8 says, "Bring forth fruits in keeping with your repentance."  Obedience is evidence of faith, not its substitute, and God is not against works, just those done in the flesh (cf. Isaiah 64:6).  The faith you have is the faith you show is James' key point.  Remember, we are judged by our obedience (i.e., our deeds or works per Romans 2:6), not our faith.  God is not interested in our achievements or accomplishments, but in our obedience only!

When God tests us, it is for our own good and it is an honor because He trusts us to pass the test and obey Him.   You might wonder if you are obedient.  Acts 5:32 (ESV) says, "And we are witness to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."  Jesus said, "If any man wills to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine..."  (John 7:17).  Jesus said in John 17:3 that eternal life is knowing Him; likewise to know Him is to love Him and to love Him is to obey Him--because we now want to do God's will from the heart! Again I reiterate 2 Cor. 5 v. 14: "For the love of Christ constrains [or compels in ESV] us...."  Though the believer is capable of disobedience out of failure or because he is human, he possesses a supernatural yearning to obey and please God. As David said in Psalm 40:8 (ESV), "I desire to do your will, my God; your law is with my heart."The ultimate result of knowing Him is to desire to be like Him in sanctification and a growing and living faith.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Going Home

"What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death?"  (Psalm 89:48).
"There is but a step between me and death" (1 Samuel 20:3).
"For it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the Judgment"  (Hebrews 9:27).
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).
"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints" (cf. Psalm 116:15).
EMPHASIS MINE. It has been observed, that if you can direct a man's thoughts toward eternity, you are well on the way to converting him.

"[Prepare] to meet your God, O Israel"  (cf. Amos 4:12).  Avoidance of the issue or being in denial is a cop-out and defense mechanism that doesn't work, because, sooner or later, we will all meet our Maker and have either a judgment day or a coronation day.  We must learn to put eternity in perspective and live in light of eternity--we are only passing through, as it were! Remember, it has wisely been said, "The only thing certain about life is death."  We all have the final appointment with death and no one knows when it is for them--he must always be vigilant.

There is the story of how much of a welcome Teddy Roosevelt got in a ticker-tape parade in Time's Square, and at the same time a missionary was coming home to his family:  He wondered why he didn't receive such a glorious welcome as this "hero" and God told him:  [Don't make yourself too comfortable or make yourself at home!] "You are not home yet!" We must learn to live our lives on this earth as foreigners and see that God just gives us spiritual green cards to prepare us for eternity. See yourself as a citizen of heaven!

Matthew Henry said that it ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day. This is highly practical and a matter of applying the Word to our lives. Not wanting to tackle this issue, or to avoid it, is cowardly and escaping reality, so to speak.  If you are not ready for death, you are not really living; for only those ready to die can enjoy life to the max.  If we can affirm with Paul: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith..." (2 Timothy 4:7).

The day of our departure to be with the Lord is meant to be more joyous than our day of birth!  I like Alfred, Lord Tennyson's wording in In Memoriam: "God's finger touched him and he slept."  Life is not a fluke and there is an intricate plan of God for each of us, and when we realize it we are really "Living" with a capital L. Some people are merely existing, they are not living, because the true secret to life eternal in its fullness is to know God ("I am come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly," says Jesus; starting now, not in eternity).

You can spend your life without accomplishing anything and it may turn out to be empty pursuits done in vain.  I am not against doing good deeds or works, just those done in the flesh!  We will only be rewarded for the fruit of the Spirit that we accomplish through the power of the Spirit (Hosea 14:8; Isaiah 26:12).  Paul said in Romans 15:18, "I will not venture to speak of anything, but what Christ has accomplished through me [as a vessel of honor] "prepared unto good works" per Ephesians 2:10). Note that we are not saved "by works," but "unto [for] works," and we will be recompensed fairly beyond our wildest dreams.

The sad thing is that most people don't know they are wasting their life on worthless goals or even godless pleasures.  A life without God-oriented purpose is petty and trivial and will count for nothing in light of eternity.  Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the poet laureate of the UK, said that he looked forward to meeting his "pilot" when he had "crossed the bar."  "Death, be not proud!" Sir Walter Scott said, "Time and tide wait for no man."  We never know when our hour has come--we must be ready.

Death is a door and not a wall.  It is the final curtain call of this existence.  It is nothing to be afraid of for us believers because Christians don't really die--it is just the separation of the soul from the higher level of dimension in living like color TV is a higher level than black and white, and likewise, H.D. and 3-D to boot!   We never reach perfect sanctification in this life where we can say we have "arrived," (cf. Phil. 3:13) but in glory, we will be without sin and yet totally free--we won't want to sin either.

To some it may seem morbid (it is being oriented to reality and being well-adjusted and victorious over the devil who holds people captive by a fear of death) and to make the final preparations and provide for final expenses, or to dwell on your wishes, even sharing them to intimate friends and family there comes a time when we must face reality that we are getting up there and could go at any time to meet our Lord, and our work is done--we are the ultimate realists.  We don't want to be preoccupied with the subject but examples of what ought to be done as an example--this is our last testimony and chance to say something in our death.  How many believers have made funeral arrangements, or have life insurance, or have gone through the trouble of making a will and appointing an executor?   Having done this, I can reassure you that it is God's will and there is great peace of mind in not leaving the final expenses to family and burdening them to worry about the details in such a trying and lamentable moment as when a dear one passes away.

I have talked to some guys and they simply don't care what happens to them after they die, but this is an unbiblical attitude.  There is such as thing as being irresponsible and making that final impression of how people remember you are important.  In the Bible, God places a premium on giving men a proper burial and I recall the wicked Jezebel that the dogs ate her body and she never was buried. When God curses people often He says they won't receive a proper burial--this is an eternal stigma, and we are to honor all men and give every man in the image of God, no matter his status a proper burial, and to be ready for any contingency.  We are stewards of what God has blessed us with and will be held accountable to the end, even our foresight, like God, said to Hezekiah:  "Get your house in order, you are about to die!"

Try thinking of the departing to be with the Lord as our final promotion and being given our ultimate reward (1 Cor. 2:9 says, "Eye has not heard, not entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for [us]").  Be ready!  St. Francis of Assisi was asked what he'd do with one hour left to live: "I'd finish this row [he was gardening that day]."  And in that day, ye shall ask me nothing" (John 16:23):  Our questions are answered.

Our departure is meant to be glorious and a celebration of our life and we will see how God has always been at work in our lives "to do and to will according to His good pleasure"  (Philippians 2:13).  William James, the psychologist, said, "The best use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it."   The consequences of our personal goals will not last as long as the accomplishment of God's will in our life--the goal should be to find that for your life and be faithful in it.  We are all living on borrowed time, as they say, and sooner or later you will realize that disease like cancer is not terminal--life is! We cannot escape the Grim Reaper and are literally all on Death Row!  The best philosophy and theology is to be ready to expire at any time, and that gives us a brave heart.  Soli Deo Gloria!