Hold Fast That Which Is Good

Paul says: "[B]u] test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thess. 5:21, ESV).  John says that we are to "test the spirits" to see whether they are of God.  We are to treasure the gifts of God and be accountable for the gift or gifts we are blessed with. "Christ is all, and in all," says Paul.  The difference in the Christian faith is that we are not living in our own effort, but by the mighty power of God in us (cf. Col 1:29; Heb. 13:21).  Paul says he ventures not to speak, but of what Christ has accomplished through him (cf. Rom. 15:18).

Even a prophet is "not without honor," says Jesus, "except in his hometown and in his own family." Paul also says not to "despise prophesying"--but what does he mean by that? Charles Colson was a modern-day prophet in that he was a clear-thinking interpreter of the times we live in and opened the eyes of many to the sign of the times.  There are a plethora of spiritual books, even from false prophets and doomsayers, on the market and we are blessed to be edified by so much scholarship, but one cannot read every one; one must make value judgments, make recommendations, and learn to read with a purpose and organize his reading so that he knows what is worth filing, making note of, referencing, footnoting, or reading again and again--some books are to be digested, not just read superficially or skimmed through.

We must learn to learn from each other, for we all have something to contribute and share, and we can learn from the experience and scholarship of others. When we get discernment we can readily appraise what we read to organize it in our minds and reference it.  Some books are just worth a quick perusal or skimming or speed-reading.  They may be worth just ten minutes of our time, we might think. When we are given large reading assignments, we must learn to assess the relative value and worth or importance of what we read and read with a purpose.  Some of it may not even have been worth our time or even a waste of it (hopefully we learned a lesson, though), but hopefully, we can discern books, etc., by their titles and judge whether we might be able to apply or use the information contained.

A bad habit to get into is to read spiritual matter for entertainment or to kill time instead of redeeming or invest time (it should be for edification, thirst for the truth, and inspiration)--we should always read sincerely so that God can speak to us through the scholarship of others, and we can benefit. Even Paul asked Timothy to bring his parchments to him so he would have reading material--it is wrong to think that God only wants us to read Scripture (I believe Paul enjoyed reading since he had been a Pharisee), and that reading only the Bible is somehow holier or mature.  When we are to "hold fast that which is good," it means explicitly that we are to retain and organize for future use any material we do read, as an application.  We may have our favorite books that we refer to over and over again and have become a part of us, and ones that we might as well part with, having no heart feelings or regret.  It is one thing to know "how to read" literally, and HOW TO READ: it's quite another matter to know what you're reading and how to do it!

Good writing, it has been said, comes from a good soul and spirit, and one should know the author to have insight into the writing. Remember, if you don't read good writing you will read bad writing or "feed on trash," as they say GIGO or garbage-in-garbage-out!  "The wise hunger for the knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash" (cf. Proverbs 15:14).  Non-believers are those who "reject the truth" and "do not love the truth" according to 2 Thess. 2:20 and Christians must learn to love knowledge, wisdom, and understanding because "knowledge is power," according to Sir Francis Bacon, citing Proverbs 24:5, which says that he who increases knowledge increases power per the ESV: "... a man of knowledge increases his strength".  Soli Deo Gloria!

Repecting All Men

"Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor" (2 Pet. 2:17, NIV). We ought to respect all authority figures or those in delegated authority. We must learn to give all due respect (cf. Romans 13:1-2), even if we don't like them. All men deserve dignity by virtue of being human. The Scripture expects us to pray for all those in authority, and that includes constables, representative, mayors, legislators, senators, judges, school board members, the president, and what have you, including respecting your elders and teachers in school.  In the military, you might have ambivalent feelings for your drill sergeant, but you will learn to respect him.

People sometimes have doubts about certain so-called dubious occupations, such as lawyers or car salesmen, but we are not to make stereotypes and generalize about all members of that profession. There may be a few bad cops, for instance, that doesn't eliminate our duty to honor them.  In the service, you may not respect the officer himself, but you learn to respect the office he holds.  In Jesus' day, the Jews had no respect for publicans or tax collectors and sinners (Jews who weren't observant), and Jesus went to the home of Zaccheus and converted him.  This was quite appalling to the Jews who thought that this would defile Him.  Roman soldiers were certainly not respected but Jesus commended the Roman centurion for his faith and John the Baptist converted them (he didn't advise them to leave the Roman army).

The point is that you should judge people individually and not as groups they belong to, which is prejudice, profiling, and bias.  Just because some lawyers are crooked, doesn't mean a Christian cannot become a lawyer (the church father Tertullian was a lawyer).  Just because you've had a bad run-in with police doesn't give you the right to judge their profession--there are much noble police doing a fine job and this is not an easy job, the chances they take and the dangerous situations they encounter.  The fact is is that there are bad people in every legitimate profession and we cannot judge them as a group.  For instance, police are ordained by God as being in authority over us--to despise or show contempt for their authority is to dishonor God.

Our attitude toward authority is a mirror of our attitude toward God  (it all began with the fourth commandment to honor our parents who are in loco Dei, or in the place of God).  Many people never grasp authority like the centurion officer who said to Jesus, "I, too, am a man under authority." Veterans and service personnel have a better concept of authority than others because many times they've had to accept authority they didn't like and found out what respect entails.  The law is given for wrongdoers and if we obey the law we have nothing to have an issue about or to fear--we have only ourselves to blame for breaking the law, not the officer for enforcing it.  (Leniency or mercy aren't leniency and mercy if they are required or earned--they don't have to give us a break!)  Have you ever given a beggar some alms? Why haven't you extended that grace to all?

God establishes the death penalty for those who commit murder in Genesis 9:6, and this is because human life is sacred and inviolate in God's eyes, because we are in the image of God.  We are not to be inhumane to anyone under any circumstances. but only render what strict justice requires under the law and not to be vindictive, unusual, or cruel.  God put a limit on revenge by saying that it should be eye-for-eye and life-for-life.  The value of one soul is worth more to God than the entire universe; for what would it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?  (Cf. Mark 8:36). Certain occupations seem to become stigmatized or losing respect, but their occupation must not be maligned.  Authority figures are there for a reason (to keep people in line and keep evil at bay) and mean that we should respect their authority or delegated authority.

When politicians react expediently, and not on principle, it is demeaning to the profession, and we must realize that this is a hazard of the job--it will cost you to gain respect and you must be willing to make the sacrifices.  We live in a day and age when people are losing respect for everyone and no occupation seems sacrosanct.  Doctors and nurses are doubtless respected, but there are crooked, unethical, and dishonest ones, too. Teachers are highly regarded in most societies, but some of them are unconscionable cheaters or slackers, and even unskilled.  It is all right to disagree or to not like an individual, but we must never categorize entire professions, which is generalizing, because of our experience--just think if Jesus had been biased against publicans and sinners--where would we be?
Soli Deo Gloria!

Having A Foundation

Some misled believers sincerely believe it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere. This is fallacious and what you believe is the most important thing about you.  Ideas have consequences and you cannot engage in heresy without it having the side effect of wrong behavior or mislead and misguided action.  Doctrine is not simply your philosophy but means "teaching" in plain English.  "All Scripture is profitable for doctrine..." (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16).

We think in terms of vocabulary and the bigger our vocabulary, the more profound or engaged our thinking can attain to. Doctrine is akin to the vocabulary of the Bible and one must master the basics of the milk of the Word to move on to the meat or solid food of the Bible.  You are unskilled in the Word of Righteousness if you don't know the ABCs of doctrine.  We think in terms of doctrine and applied doctrine as our vocabulary and shouldn't base our learning upon experience, such as mystics do. Doctrine is rudimentary and we cannot avoid or escape it without committing spiritual suicide.

Teachers are to "teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine" (cf. Titus 2:1) and to pay attention to their doctrine, and "rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith." (cf. Titus 2:13).   Learning doctrine requires a disciplined mind, but when you enroll in the school of Christ it comes with the territory. Now it is important to have the right doctrine or orthodoxy, but orthopraxy (right ethics) is also vital. Just because our doctrine is impeccably correct doesn't mean everything is copacetic.  It is more paramount that our hearts be right with the Lord than our minds fixated on the right beliefs.  But both are important to a healthy Christian walk.  R. C. Sproul says:  "You can have sound doctrine without a sound life, but no sound life without sound doctrine."

No matter how much faith we have and no matter how sincere we are, if our doctrine is heretical we are not saved.  Sincerity is important but it is not everything--you can be sincerely wrong and lost.  Mature believers are defined in Ephesians 4:14 as those who are not "tossed about by every wind of doctrine."  This stability only comes with a basic foundation that cannot be shaken and getting a frame of reference so that the believer knows what he believes and even what beliefs are negotiable, and which ones are not. (Augustine's dictum says, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.")   We must know when it is appropriate to be dogmatic and stand up for the faith, contend, and when to cut some slack! "For the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine." (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3). 

Yes, there is false doctrine in the church; however, we are to be ever vigilant and to answer it with sound doctrine, not avoid it entirely.  To avoid doctrine because of false doctrine is only spiritual suicide and abandoning the search for the truth, whereas godliness is through the Word of Truth and we feed on doctrine resident in the soul.  In the final analysis, you are rewarded according to your good deeds, but you are saved according to what your beliefs--these two are correlated, and can be distinguished, but not separated or divorced.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Knowing What To Believe

Someone has remarked that people get their beliefs like they catch colds (probably referring to The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, where he alleges that "faith is caught" and religion is a "mental virus"), and they get faith from hanging around certain people and becoming infected--they don't think independently, but get easily persuaded by the loudest and most vociferous voices heard. You can predict what these people think of the crowd they hang around. They have not learned the science of critical thinking and know nothing of being skeptical when it does matter.


Consider the source!  Who is saying what and what is the authority of that source?  They have not thought it out or been challenged in their thinking. Do they know what the person means by their terminology, sometimes there may be a semantic problem or a simple misunderstanding of definitions that can cause quarrels and misunderstandings?  Knowing what you believe is only the prelude to knowing why and defending and contending for the faith and your position as commanded. People have to come to the realization and awakening that it doesn't matter what people believe, but what matters is the truth and we must find it and defend it.


We often agree more than we disagree and it is vital to find commonality and not stress our differences, yet we are prone to disputations because of our human nature. Not knowing what you believe can be disastrous to keeping the faith.  You become susceptible to influence and persuasion by those more educated if you have no foundation and don't know the rules of the game or of engagement. The unschooled, unseasoned believer is "tossed to and fro ... by every wind of doctrine," according to Ephesians 4:14, ESV.  Scholars can sometimes take advantage of the unskilled in the Word (especially those skilled in the Koine Greek or Hebrew) and naive students are easy prey. People who are skilled at the technique and art of debate and polemics know that you should be able to argue both sides of a case to be able to be in a position to judge the merit of it.


Keep your mind open till you have considered the relevant verses, such as proof texts.  The reason is that you need a frame of reference and viewpoint to interpret reality and God's truth.  Sound doctrine is foundational--the building block on which all other knowledge, discernment, and wisdom rest, the simple basics and starting point. Doctrine cannot be avoided without committing spiritual suicide; it is the infrastructure of Bible knowledge and it's mandatory to learn the ABCs  You shouldn't just be able to converse on the subjects, but know where you stand and be ready to defend (cf. 1 Timothy 2:15) your convictions (you hold beliefs, by the way, but convictions hold you!). This is rudimentary and not subject to compromise!


You cannot be biased at the beginning and must be willing to go where the evidence leads, even if it is against your gut instinct and presuppositions, which may become shaken up a little and shock you out of your comfort zone. Flannery Connor said that truth doesn't change according to our ability to stomach it!  You will never arrive at the truth if you are unwilling to go there, or even consider it as an option!  You should know why you believe something, and not just because you accept someone's word for it or you accept someone's authority as a teacher.  For instance, Roman Catholics don't believe they have the individual authority to interpret Scripture, but that it is the domain of the clergy. This is why they swallow the belief that tradition is of equal authority with Scripture--they've never checked things out for themselves.


We are to follow the example, the Berean Jews who searched the Scriptures to see if these things that Paul taught were so (cf. Acts 17:11). This is a dangerous presumption to forego our responsibility to interpret Scripture because you are literally blindly putting the fate of your soul into someone's hands. This is literally coming full circle from the Reformation!  The Bible is the sole and final authority (sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone, as authority was a battle cry of the Reformation), and God has given each of us the privilege to interpret it, but also the responsibility to do it right.  God wants us to read the Word, and if we don't believe we can interpret the Bible, we will be less likely to do this.


There are a few critical questions (this is not original of mine) one needs to ask if one is to be skeptical and doubt someone at their word: Where do they get their information?  Is there evidence? Do they footnote it or do they assume you accept their authority?  Be vigilant about the meaning of terms and words, because they may mean something you don't understand.  Ask them to literally tell you what they mean by the words in question--this will reveal a lot.  Don't take words for granted! Always ask them what they mean by their proposition.  And most importantly, you must consider the issue of how they know it's true--is there evidence?  Some people confuse belief with truth and "feel" in their hearts something as true and that is "evidence."  Believing something doesn't make it true!  


Are they mystical and relying on their own experience (you'd be surprised how many people just "feel" something is true in their hearts!), or are they mere scholars (not that scholars are to be avoided--they are needed too!) who quote so and so?  The authority of the source is vital and one should weigh in on the validity of this source--for instance, do you have a Bible verse for that or are you just theorizing this for yourself? For example Martin Luther said he would only be persuaded by Sacred Scripture or evident reason, otherwise, he would not recant (not the papal authority either) at the Diet of Worms. Remember, "no Scripture [cf. 2 Pet. 1:20] is of any private interpretation," and this means no one can come up with some newfangled meaning, secret or esoteric knowledge, or "spiritualization" no one else will realize or apprehend.


John MacArthur has rightly said, that not knowing what you believe is a sort of non-belief!  We are not to waver in limbo not knowing anything for sure, but to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior and to study to show ourselves approved unto God, as workmen, not needing to be ashamed, but rightly diving or handling the Word of Truth (cf. 1 Timothy 2:15).  Not knowing what you believe will only make you susceptible and vulnerable to false doctrine and even doctrines of demons and, when people attack the faith, you will have no basis to answer them or defend the faith (contending for the faith is not the option, but commanded in Jude 3).


The childish believer balks at learning the things of God in depth (cf. 2 Tim. 3:9) and isn't able to distinguish good from evil (cf. Heb. 5:14), therefore he tends only to the milk of the Word and is unskilled in the Word of Righteousness and isn't ready to digest the meat of the Word.  The more you are aware of what you believe, the better equipped you are to battle the forces of evil which attack us with ideas from the devil himself in an onslaught.  There is a false religion, false doctrine, and false mysticism out there that must be revealed and brought to light so that we are not influenced by it.

Knowing what you believe is the very foundation of living in faith and should also be a building block to the truth.  Never assume you have arrived or have monopolized the truth.  No one has cornered the market and we all need each other in the body to share insight and enlightenment.  We are to think in terms of doctrine as a vocabulary of the Spirit, not experience, and we need to learn how to think in a godly manner and be doctrinally correct to root out misconceptions and error from our thinking--we all need to get our thinking straightened out!  

Caveat:  Don't allow teachers or authorities to be the arbiters of truth--they often contradict each other--God alone is the arbiter of all truth based on what is revealed to us in Scripture (cf. Deut. 29:29, ESV, which says:  "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.").


In the final analysis, it is far more important to live out your beliefs, put them into action, and turn your creeds into deeds, than to be impeccably correct in all your doctrine. You cannot have a sound life without sound doctrine, according to R. C. Sproul, but you can have sound doctrine without a sound life--both are necessary and we shouldn't downplay either one.  Faith is only valid when it is acted upon, it is knowledge put to work to glorify God.  We will be judged by our deeds, not our beliefs; God isn't going to ask us what doctrinal position we hold on such and such or what church we went to, either--we aren't saved by our theory of the atonement, for instance!  

It is not that we will make assumptions (this is unavoidable), but the crux of the matter is on what evidence they rest! Remember:  To gain any knowledge you must first admit your ignorance (be teachable!), according to Socrates. You cannot avoid doctrine by claiming it is too arcane or only has academic value.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Let God Be True

"The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17, ESV).

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth"  (1 John 3:18, ESV).

This is the name of the primary Watchtower Bible & Tract Society book which denies the Trinity as being the doctrine invented by Satan himself.  Actually, the church father Tertullian coined the word, and even though it isn't a biblical word, it is taught throughout Scripture from creation, where God is in the plural (Elohim--"Let us create ...") to the Great Commission where we are to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  All members of the Godhead are equally God and equally divine, sharing all attributes of deity alike.  

The reason Charles Taze Russell denied the Trinity was because he thought it was irrational--what made him presume God is able to be comprehended by man (The philosophers of antiquity said, "The finite cannot grasp the infinite") or in Latin: "finitum non capax infinitum").   The more one contemplates this truth, the more one realizes it is from the revelation of God, and not man's invention. Truth is that way, it is not something we would've guessed!  Christianity is a revealed religion and we know it by special revelation, personal visitation, and encounter by God Himself in the person of His only Son, our Lord.

There is one God, though manifested in three personas as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  All of one essence, but having different self-distinctions or consciousnesses.  What trait, characteristic, or attribute of one can be said of the others.  They always act in harmony and concurrence of will (there is no conflict of interest, disharmony, ill-will, or disagreement). If the members of the Trinity disagreed they would be lying by definition of the law of noncontradiction.  They work according to the role and domain they have, such as the Father purposing or proposing salvation, the Son accomplished it, and the Holy Spirit executing and making it known and real in the believer.  

The Father also authored and planned it, the Son did the work of redemption, and the Holy Spirit applied it.  They also worked in concert in creating heaven and earth.  Jesus is known as the logos or logic of God and is called the Word (expression or icon) of God (cf. John 1:14).  Jesus was the incarnation and manifestation of truth itself, proving we can know and grasp it (cf. John 14:6). He pronounced: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free" (cf. John 8:32).

One thing that is impossible for God to do is lie; while man is a liar and lies from the womb according to the Psalms.  Lying isn't just saying something that is contrary to fact on purpose: not saying the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; misspeaking; giving someone a line; making up something as you go along for impression's sake; saying something to gain the upper edge or advantage; false compliments; insincere flattery; any half-truth; misleading statements; exaggeration for effect; saying something to gain advantage; deceptive practices; giving off a false impression; jumping to the conclusion; misrepresentations; saying something that hurts; bearing false witness against your neighbor; disinformation; contradicting yourself; propaganda; not being honest in niceties or pleasantries, such as in greetings and saying you're feeling fine, when you're not; not telling the whole story; leading astray; acting the con man; flirting; buttering up someone; creating a false impression or going along with one; fooling someone; putting spin on something; saying something with bias or subjectivity; pre-judging someone or something; gossip; slander; judging; false portrayal of situations or events, etc.


Face it: We all stand guilty as charged when we realize all this encompasses and more to boot, including omitting the truth as a sin of omission, and anything God wouldn't say. Remember, telling one lie makes you a liar!  But God cannot lie according to Titus 1:2. If God could lie, what kind of God would he be?  President George Washington claimed that he couldn't tell a lie; actually, that's a lie--he could, but chose not to on intentionally. The Bible calls all men liars (cf. Romans 3:4).  President Jimmy Carter told us he wouldn't lie to us, but this was an impossible task as Chief Executive.

Philosophically, Thomas Aquinas believed and affirmed what Augustine had said in that all truth is God's truth and concluded that all truth meets at the top. Francis A. Schaeffer said the Bible is "true truth." Jesus said that God's Word is truth and sanctifies us (cf. John 17:17). Jesus said that the Father is the "only true God" (cf. John 17:3). Truth is what transforms and doesn't just inform or reform. Truth changes lives and is alive and powerful and fills us then makes us hungry. It reads you as you read it!

God judges those who practice deceit and lie on purpose or deliberately like false teachers or prophets, and they will not enter the kingdom of heaven  (cf. Rev. 22:15, ESV:  "... [T]hose who love and practice falsehood").  Satan is a liar and the father of lies, the father of all men before salvation, and when he speaks a lie he is speaking naturally, for this is his nature.  The man who insists he's telling the truth and swears in God's name is probably the most insecure of his integrity.  Like Shakespeare writes: "Methinks thou dost protest too much!"

Note that the Bible records Abraham as having lied about Sarah. When I say someone is a liar I am delineating someone who practices the sin intentionally and loves or approves of it--not some besetting weakness that is confessed. After conversion we have a new nature able, to tell the truth, and overcome the sin of lying--we are no longer prone to lie; however, the flesh is still tempted.  People generally associate liars as those who got caught; however, we are all liars, we all just didn't get caught!  Don't strive to be the ideal man with unrealistic expectations, but to be a real man with ones in touch with reality and needing God to overcome sin--always a battle till glorification.

To claim that you don't lie is a lie and a claim to divinity because only God can claim this:  "... Let God be true and every man a liar" (cf. Rom. 3:4, ESV).  In essence, this is blasphemy (which is a lie by definition) and a direct insult to God's holiness, as He is a jealous God and will tolerate no rivals or someone asserting deity or divinity.  If you've never realized what a liar you were before salvation or that you still are prone to do it because of the resident old sin nature, you have never been convicted of sin and don't know what the word really means or its connotations--the more you realize lies and the more sensitive you become, the more honest you become, the closer to the truth you get, the more aware you become of sin, and then the less sin!


The sad fact is that people aren't concerned with whether an idea is true anymore, but just whether it works, and works for them in particular. There is no Truth with a capital T and all truth is relative now, especially the ones relating to Christianity.  Christians are to proclaim the truth incarnate and that it is knowable, relevant, and profitable. New Age adherents believe something is true if it feels right. Morality is always based on transcendent truth that we all should know and appeal to, not personal opinion, feelings, or conjecture. Unbelievers are those who reject the truth (cf. Romans 2:8). People today deny universal truth that is valid for everyone but insists that it might be true for you, and not for them.


Objective truth is true whether believed or not. (Note:  Even the Greeks sought and loved the true, the good, and the beautiful.)  Two contradictory ideas cannot simultaneously both be true. What they tend to believe is that there is no truth and it is vain to search for it or claim you've found it.  Just like Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:38 what truth was, but didn't stick around for an answer. If you seek the truth with your whole heart you will find it and it will set you free--then you can speak forth truth, and not the lies and deceptions of Satan.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Look At Me!

Ponder and meditate on these texts with added emphasis:

"Look unto me, and be ye saved..."  (Isaiah 45:22, KJV, emphasis added).
"... 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world'"  (John 1:29, KJV, emphasis added).  
"Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: and thereby good shall come unto thee"  (Job 21:22, KJV).


When Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole in the wilderness in Numbers 21, all that was required was an act of faith to be healed from the bite of the venomous snakes.  Just look at the bronze serpent! Later people turned it into a fetish and worshiped it so that King Hezekiah had to destroy it--they missed the point!  We just need to look unto Jesus!   1 Peter 1:8, emphasis added, says the following:  "...[And] though you have not seen Him you love Him."

How can you keep your eyes on Jesus according to Hebrews 12:2 if you don't see Him?  It wasn't faith in the offer, but faith in God and obeying Him.  It is imperative that we look unto Jesus to be saved and get our eyes off ourselves (our merit).  Paul rejoiced in Galatians 1:16  that God "was pleased to reveal His Son in [him]."  He prayed "that the eyes of [hearts] may be enlightened'  (cf. Eph. 1:18, NASB).


We believe in spite of the fact that we don't know Him after the flesh, or are eyewitnesses to His resurrection.  Jesus said in John 20:29 (ESV):  "...Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." We don't need to be empiricists relying on experience, nor rationalists, relying on our reasoning faculties either.  God makes Jesus real to us just like being there--the Holy Spirit convicts: this means that having the Holy Spirit's inner witness is greater assurance that if we had been there and seen Jesus for ourselves.  It is much more vital that we learn to see Jesus with our hearts than our eyes and God can indeed open the eyes of our hearts, that He does become real to us.


The Greeks inquired:  "Sir, we wish to see Jesus" (John 12:19, NASB, emphasis added).  The point is that "we do see Him" (cf. Hebrews 2:9).  I would love to say to my brother:  "I see Jesus in you!" Or:  "He's got his Father's eyes!"  We are the icons of Christ and represent Him to the lost. We all bear the image and likeness of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work.  God works on us till He sees Christ in us and until then we are a work in progress--the final sanctification and glorification won't happen till our resurrection.


God wants to open our spiritual eyes to beware of what He is doing in the world through Jesus.  We are the hands of Jesus that lends a helping hand; the ears that hear people's needs; the voice that speaks up for Him; the heart through which Christ loves and that spreads compassion; the feet that are welcome to spread the good news; and the mind that thinks Christlike ideas to share with a lost world, and through which Christ thinks.


Love sees better than any eye could ever hope to--just look at Helen Keller, exhibit A!  The trouble with some Christians, and we all believe, having not literally seen, is that they think their faith will be strengthened if they had a vision of Jesus or personal encounter with the Almighty of some kind, or revelation to share.  The fact is that God doesn't exist to grant our whims and wishes and provide us with experiences. All we need to know and experience is in the Word--we can have an existential encounter in the Word itself!  The Word is sufficient, clear, and simple enough for the child to understand its main message of salvation (cf. Matt. 11:25 where Jesus commends the Father for revealing the truth to infants).  God does want us to have a genuine experience and relationship with Christ but on His terms, not ours.


Everything He has to say to us is in the Word; we don't need any manuals, commentaries, lexicons, etc., to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit--that His job description.  Though God has not retired dreams or visions or audible communications, He has promised to speak through the Word.  Like the psalmist said in Psalm 119;18 to God:  "Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law."  (This refers specifically to the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit.)  It is with man's heart that he disbelieves and doesn't see.  Jesus said to the unbelievers:  "You are slow of heart to believe..."  "The fool has said in his heart, that there is no God"  (cf. Psalm 14:1, emphasis mine).

Jesus proclaimed Himself the Word of God and John called Him the Logos or the Word which became flesh or incarnate (cf. John 1:1, 14). How can anyone claim to know Jesus if He is unfamiliar with the Word (John 5:39, ESV, says plainly: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me").  Jesus is the theme of the entirety of the Word, on every page, in some prototype, analogy, parallel, etc.  He is like a scarlet thread running the course of Scripture to be seen by the believer--the key to unlocking the mysteries, understanding its message, and knowing God. personally.


After all, Christianity is about "the God who is there" (for us) and is a relationship with the living God, not just a philosophy or school of thought, though this is important.  It is not a list of dos and don'ts, a catalog of rules, collection of pious sayings, but a methodology for getting to know the living God and enjoying this relationship.  The better we know God, the more we will learn to see Him; just like His fingerprints are in every living creature under heaven and the skies show His handiwork.   The most tragic thing is that there are those who think they see and are blind; a much worse state than knowing you're blind and acknowledging this to God.


We can progress like John Wesley, who said he read the newspaper daily "to see what God is doing in His world."  We need people today who have eyes to see and ears to hear what God wants a man to do in these desperate times that seem to bear the signs of the times (the coming of our great Savior in glory for us).


As Christians we must realize that we represent Christ to the lost world and the only Jesus they may see is the one we show them; you could ask the question:  What is the gospel according to you?  Your brother may know Jesus in a different way or manifestation than you from an entirely different experience and background, but never get tired of learning about the Jesus you don't know or never knew.  Don't limit the Jesus you know putting Him in a box and being a spiritual Lone Ranger out of fellowship; after all, we are to teach and edify each other about Christ.  One person may be the ear and the other the hand of Christ to the lost.  God works in each of us in a unique way.  The whole point is to keep focused on Christ and get our eyes off ourselves and our own little world, thinking primarily of His will and His kingdom, not ours.


The final judgment of God is a hardening of the already confirmed and hardened will in defiance and is mentioned in Acts 28:27 and Isaiah 29:13 in the NASB as follows:  "For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would hear them."  God has blinded Israel in part that the Gentiles may be grafted into the Olive Tree.  Just like Paul says:  "... [B]ut the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded" (Romans 11:7, NKJV).  The sole qualification for seeing is to come to Jesus admitting you cannot see!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Point Man Of The Church

Every team needs a leader (good leaders have learned how to follow first) and who speaks for it and keys in on what's going on in the game being played. Some Christians march to the beat of a different drum, and that is good since we are not all cookie-cutter Christians--when God made you, He broke the mold!   Pastors need to know where their sheep are spiritually to be able to relate to them and meet their needs on the bumpy roads of the rat race with the law of the jungle--some are lambs, some sheep.  Some need an additional cheerleader to come into play in a bind and to get them through the week, a boost of inspiration, to stimulate growth in Christ.

The point man or principle spokesman and advocate is called by God into the ministry--he didn't volunteer himself into it, because he needs the requisite spiritual gifts and training.  It comes with the territory to be the role model of the church body and to reach out and get to know some, not to be aloof and confined to one's ivory tower.  All in all, it sometimes seems that the pastor has the thankless job of denouncing sin and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom through repentance and faith--some people never hear it clear enough to reject it!  "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth:  for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 2:7, KJV).

We all need to know the scoop, the skinny, or the lowdown to be able to relate to other believers in fellowship.  Sometimes the sheep don't relate to the pastor because he "wows" them with his scholarship, or appears too pedantic, or condescends--don't talk down to anyone, nor over their heads--they can tell. Sermons can inspire, and using the Word of God, can change lives too--they can be a turning point in one's life and a point of contact to reach out to others.

We all need to touch base and relate to others in the body and the sermon supplies a commonality or stimulus to further that effort. Homiletic devices should be personal and suited to what favors your style--but most of all a pastor should make his sermon his own, he should personalize it and relate directly to the body. Reading a sermon is generally considered a no-no, but Peter Marshall read him, but his delivery made up for it and no one faulted him for it--not everyone can get away with this!

The most challenging part of a sermon is its opening, trying to pique interest and whet the appetite for the body of the sermon.  This can be done by anecdote, story, something humorous to lighten the mood or current event in a new light. It is so easy to lose people because not everyone has a good attention span, and you must be able to keep it simple and to the point--as Einstein's dictum says: "Make it as simple as possible, but not more so."

The pastor is key to the fellowship of the body in that God speaks through him to the body and he speaks in the role of prophet, speaking on God's behalf to the churchgoers.  No matter where you are spiritual, you should be able to come away with some sort of message that applies to you.  Don't lose people or bore them with the unnecessary details, because they may think you're being academic or, worse yet, trivial and missing the point yourself.  A spiritually sound and healthy pastor will lead to a healthy and growing church.  The whole point of a sermon is to feed the flock and make them hungry for more, whetting their appetite and inspiring self-exploration of the Word.

The purpose-driven pastor seeks to edify the body, not educate or inform them.  He seeks to lead them to the Author of the Bible, not just into the text. It is easy to get sidetracked or go off on a tangent and into asides or off the subject, but he is sensitive to the leading and anointing of the Spirit and is prepared and has done his homework so that he is at the Spirits disposal to be used as God sees fit--sometimes going into uncharted or unknown territory that he couldn't have foreseen.

Who knows what the Spirit will do, one must just be ready and prepared to be used as a vessel of honor.  The ultimate goal is to knock them out of their comfort zones and challenge them, not just make them feel good for a few minutes.  A good preacher afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted in a prophetic role, not afraid to denounce sin and take stands for the Word, showing his Christian colors.  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Highest Calling

"Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season..." (2 Tim. 4:2, ESV).
NB: We are called to be Christ's ambassadors, preaching the gospel.

What this means is that preparation (and knowing the Word is implied here) is a requisite for preaching.  One needs to be ready for any opportunity God may give, in opening doors to preach--being sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. There is a world of difference between preaching and teaching and some teachers end up preaching!  (or should I say, in some cases, lecturing) and the latter may be "interesting, edifying, challenging, and informative (like info FYI)," but preaching takes it to the next level and faith comes by the preaching of the Word, while teaching is for discipling, and preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit's unction and anointing and is illuminating, enlightening, prophetic, challenging, upsetting, convicting, edifying, and inspiring--viva la difference!

When you preach you never know where the Spirit will lead, but that doesn't mean you don't prepare notes; it just means God may lead you off your subject, go off on a tangent, or go somewhere you couldn't have guessed and may mention in passing and be forced to leave your notes, because of a special anointing. Preaching the Word means faith in the Word and not in yourself, your experiences, your research, or the media you use. It isn't how professional you appear, but how spiritually prepared and led you are--prayer and faith are a must.

The called preacher afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted.  You don't just learn something--you are edified (i.e., built up in the faith).  People have to be knocked out of their comfort zones, and you have to know where the sheep are to be able to do that.  People tune you out once they feel you are lecturing them and aren't speaking to their needs or relating to them--don't condescend or "wow" them with your scholarship or expertise. The last thing he wants to do is to appear pedantic or as dry as a seminary prof.  Paul said that he preached the "Christ and Christ crucified," and not himself--he wants to keep the focus off himself and on Christ and the cross, where the power is.

Preaching is prophesying to some degree when you edify the body you are controlled by the filling, having the anointing.  This is the highest calling for a believer, not a job (he isn't a hireling), but he will be judged according to how faithful he was in using his gift and being available, humble, sensitive, and obedient, more important than being able intellectually or naturally talented with appropriate inclinations.  God is able to make him able if he has faith and is sensitive to the leading of the Spirit.  There is a certain effect when one is preaching that the person really believes what he is saying and practices what he preaches and preaches what he practices, and he does it with obvious passion and a delivery that is noticeable and effective, through the power of the Spirit, not his own charisma or personality, lest he get the glory instead of God. 

The gift of teaching is not necessarily connected to the gift to preach, and elders who are good at teaching should be given double honor. Preaching is not something you seek, or aspire to, but are called to (if you can do anything else, do it!), and if you are ordained, you must do it and it drives you. Every mature believer should be able to teach to some degree, but he who prophesies edifies the church, and may not necessarily be called to preach.  Soi Deo Gloria

Mission Impossible

It has been said that the Christian life is not hard, it's impossible.  No one can meet God's standard of perfection set in Matthew 5:48 to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.  Actually, perfection is the standard, but the direction is the test.  God isn't finished with us yet and will not give up on us--we are a work in progress (cf. Philippians 1:6) and we are to do a spiritual work-out continually ("work out your salvation with fear and trembling").  We have made a commitment to Christ and surrendered the throne of our lives to Him and given Him ownership of our lives to do as the Potter sees fit. "Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me, while I am waiting, yielded, and still."  Another hymn says, "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it..."

We all have the natural tendency to wander off from the flock or backslide in another metaphor, but Jesus is the Great Shepherd who searches for us and keeps tabs on our whereabouts.  Galatians 2:20 says that the Christian life is three things:  a relinquished life; an exchanged life; and a surrendered life.  We don't imitate Christ, we let Him live through us:  it's not imitation, but inhabitation!   "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (cf. Col. 1:27).  Did we in our own strength confide, sings Martin Luther, our striving would be losing.

The only victorious life in Christ is by the power of the Spirit and being continually filled--it's not a one-time event at all.  We may need to confess known sin and be filled again to walk with Christ in fellowship.  If you say, you cannot do this or reform yourself, it's because you cannot; Christian faith is not about AA pledges, or New Year's resolutions, or turning over a new leaf, but a change from the inside out. Christ's resurrection power must transform you, and He uses the power of the Word of God and the indwelling Spirit to accomplish His good will in us. We cannot sanctify ourselves, it is a work of grace from the Holy Spirit--the Helper that Christ sent.

With the presence of the Holy Spirit within, we are better off than if Christ were walking in our midst and we are better off than the Old Testament saints, who hadn't known the gift of the Spirit.   When you realize that you cannot live the Christian life you are on your way to surrendering your will to His and letting Him have His way with you--this surrender must be renewed daily or we will fall back into sin or never mature spiritually.

We should echo Paul's words in Philippians 4:13 that says, "I can do all things through Him that strengthens me."  In Colossians 1:29 he speaks of the mighty power at work within him.  "God is at work within you both to do and to the ill of His good pleasure"  (cf.  Philippians 2:13).  God always gives us the power to do His will and even the resources and supplies necessary.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Get Off My Case!

The closer we walk with God the more conscious we become of failure and sin within. Pray for a lively sense of sin, says Samuel Rutherford, the more sense of sin, the less sin.  The court that throws the book at a convicted felon will do it because he doesn't seem redeemable and is beyond hope, and the only chance at reformation is to make him very sorry for his crime.  Normally, there is leniency for the first time in court and it gets progressively worse and more strict.  Some people tend to throw the book at people because they have a false sense of their own personal righteousness; however, God says that He will show mercy to the merciful.  We all should say with Paul:  "I am what I am by the grace of God" (1 Cor. 15:10).

The way we see things reveals more about us, what about the things we observe-it's all subjective interpretation. We see reality as we are not as it is.  The Golden Rule says to treat others the way you want to be treated; therefore, do not ever throw the book at someone, unless he is a hardened recidivist and you seek to make him an example. The good judge always tempers his justice with mercy and metes out justice without bias and only after hearing carefully the arguments of both sides--he doesn't pervert justice or take bribes.

None of us really has his act together so well that we could escape death, if God were to decree suddenly to stop all evil in the world--no one would be left.  It's all relative, the standard of goodness is God, not man and God doesn't grade on a curve.  We are to judge nothing before the time according to 1 Cor. 4:6 and Jesus said that when you judge, judge righteous judgment (John 7:24, ESV):  "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."

The admonition not to judge in Matthew 7:1 is not to judge harshly nor rashly, and considering what standards you want to be judged by--it doesn't make an absolute prohibition on judging.  In 1 Cor. 5:12 (ESV):  "...Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?" God judges those outside the church! We must purge the evil ones from the fellowship because allowing sin in the camp (cf. Aachan's sin in Joshua) infects the whole camp and having sin in the family brings down the whole family; if one part suffers, they all suffer.  Church discipline is a sign of a living and obedient church, and not out of control concerning its membership.

We are not to have a critical spirit of a brother because we don't have all the facts, and when we judge another it only shows what kind of person we are, or what offends us personally (usually the sin that we hate in ourselves). We don't know the details of our brother's case and are not to pry into his business like busybodies--live and let live and leave room for the judgment of God.  It is not our job to stop sin, because only God can convict of it and bring one to repentance and faith.  We must not habitually judge another brother because he stands or falls to his own master.   Soli Deo Gloria!