Walking the Walk by Faith: Wheat and Tares

Simply the best teaching on the parable of the Wheat and the Tares that I have read.

Walking the Walk by Faith: Wheat and Tares

(Okay, so I haven't read a lot, but still it's an excellent teaching!)
Tag(s): Church

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Shiny Chains

When we were saved the Lord delivered us from the bondage of our sins, yet for most (okay all of us), within a few moments or days we had picked up and put back on one or more of those chains.

There is a particular chain that is on my mind, I won't get into what it actually is, perhaps you have one like it yourself. It's a very shiny chain to me. Twice I've been freed from bondage to this chain, yet there it was, all sparkly and shiny.

So, there it was, at a time when I should have been focusing on the Lord, my attention strayed to this shiny chain. The Lord reminded me, "I've released you from that chain, let it go."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize that I'd picked it up! Praise Your Holy Name!" I said as I set it back down for a moment.

"You really should turn your attention to something else." The thought occurred, warning me.

"Yes, but it is a particularly shiny chain."

"It wouldn't be tempting if it didn't seem attractive on the outside, but you know how destructive it is. And you have only the vaguest clue of how putting that chain back on might limit you."

"Yes, but I wonder if it still fits."

"He was wounded for our transgressions, He bore our sins on His body on the tree. (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24) Would you add to this?"

"No, but ..."

"You know it is a sin, it is a willful act of disobedience for you to put that back on."

"Yes, but maybe if I put on like so, but not quite..." Click.
"Father! What have I done! Forgive me!" I cried as I lifted the newly attached chain to the Lord.

"You are forgiven, however I love you too much to not let you suffer the consequences of your choice. Like a child who burns his hand on a stove, if he could not feel the pain he would continue to burn himself. So, if and when I release you from your bondage to that particular sin you will have scars to remind you not to put it back on yet again."

Oh, and it hurts Him so much more than it does me.
Now I begin to understand Psalm 51.

Tag(s):temptation

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The Counterfeit Church

Mike has done it again! His excellent post on the current Counterfeit Church - Walking the Walk by Faith: The Counterfeit Church - caused me to want to comment. And of course, being that I'm so long-winded I couldn't let it stand as a comment... actually, I got off of his topic of the current Counterfeit Church and onto my opinion of the coming Counterfeit Church.

The Counterfeit Church Mike Ratliff writes about, with it's heretical doctrines is in large part made possible here in America by our Scriptural ignorance. The Roman Catholic Church finds the Scriptures incompatible with their doctrines and the "Emergent" Church finds the Scriptures to be outmoded and irrelevant to "modern life". Very few of today's Churches find it convenient or useful to teach the "Whole Council of God". Sure, they use a verse here and a verse there to teach their moral lesson, but they don't really teach what is in the Bible; mainly because the teachings of the Bible are incompatible with their doctrines and morals.

But instead of a second Great Awakening that Mike sees, I see the emergence of the One World Church! The roots of the One World Church are apparent today. I believe we may well see it in our lifetimes. The Dali Lama accepts Jesus as a way to reach heaven. Islam has no real beef with "Christianity" as long as you down-play the "Jesus Christ dieing on the cross" thing. Hey, Mohammad said Jesus was a Great Prophet, that should be good enough! (Great Prophets do not die a dishonorable and shameful death on a cross. Instead, he fools the Jews and the Romans into crucifying someone else. Therefore, Muslims "honor" Jesus Christ more than do Christians!) Islam even teaches a literal second coming of Jesus Christ. (A doctrine that a large part of the christian church no longer holds.) Interestingly, their Jesus Christ is coming to destroy the Jews and the Infidels. Sadly, anti-semitism is so rife, that much of the church wouldn't take issue with the "Christ" coming to destroy the Jews, as long as they (the false church) aren't included as an infidel.

And it's not like the RCC doesn't have Mary, the Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, and Co-Redemptrix (three blasphemous titles) to fall back on. They aren't really very far from the Islamic view of Jesus, doctrinally. ("After all, the Ten Commandments say that Jesus has to listen to his Mother!", an RCC youth leader said to me at the Catholic World Youth Day last year.) And even many "Evangelicals" aren't willing to split on such a minor issue as demoting the Savior for the sake of Ecumenism. We're all god's children, right? As long as we strongly believe we are going to heaven, god will honor that! Sure, jesus said he was the only way; but he meant that he was representative of the many ways. Don't you see, if all ways lead to the same destination, then they are all the same "the one" way just like he taught! After all, it takes great faith and strongly held religious convictions to blow yourself up along with a bus load of Infidel (children) as a martyr for god.

Alright, so there are still some issues, but you wait and see. There will be an Ecumenical Council where the RCC and Islam come to terms! Probably joined by the Orthodox Church, and acclaimed and accepted by nearly all of the main-line protestant churches (including many well known evangelical leaders), as well as a large contingent of the so-called Emergent Church. It may take a catastrophic event of some sort to provided the initial impetus... or it may not.

Or, in our lifetime there may yet be another Great Awakening, or even both! All of this is exciting to me because we win either way! Either way, the Lord is still coming back and the victory is already His!

Lord, I pray that you bring your promised Peace to Jerusalem! Maranatha!

Tag(s): One World Church

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Are You Offering Strange Fire?

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.
(Leviticus 10:1-2 KJV)

Paul commands us to make ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1). But, he is saying that to Christians who have already been cleansed by the saving blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Nadab and Abihu were priests. They had just been consecrated in Leviticus chapter 8. They knew that they should only use fire from the altar to burn incense, still they choose to take fire of their own choosing instead.

Jesus was kind and gentle to sinners who realized what they were. He was harshest to the religious people. The self-righteous do not understand their need for His sacrifice.

Some friends of mine related a story about "retired" nuns that they knew. These dear ladies spend nearly all of their time (12 plus hours a day) in chapel praying. If you ask them to, you can be certain that they will pray fervently for you. It broke my heart to hear this! I was assured that these dear ladies all have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, but I couldn't help but wonder if some of them were praying so hard in order to earn Merits. What a tragedy!

If we try to earn our way, whether we call it Merits, or whether we just think that if we are "good enough for long enough", then we are rejecting the one perfect acceptable sacrifice for our salvation; Jesus Christ.

By all means we should pray continually, and do the other things in Jesus' Name, but we need to bring the fire of motivation from the altar of Jesus' Sacrifice and not from the strange fire of our own self-righteousness.

The results of offering strange fire hasn't changed from before either. After this life, if all we have to offer is the strange fire of our own self-righteousness, then the Wrath of God will break out and consume us the same as He did to Nadab and Abihu.

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
(Isaiah 66:23-24 KJV)

Tag(s): merits

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Re: The True Spirit of KJV Onlyism

This started out as a comment to Walking the Walk by Faith: The True Spirit of KJV Onlyism. But it has gotten a bit long. :-)

It is very unfortunate that there are so many who rant about "KJV only". The point of the KJV and earlier English translations was to make the Bible accessible to the "common" man. It's really ironic how this cycle seems to continue. Jerome translated the Greek Bible into Latin, the common language of his day. It was named the Vulgate, from the root word vulgar, which meant common. After Latin was no longer commonly spoken, the RCC outlawed translations into common, or native languages. Now there are those who try their best to keep the Bible out of the understanding of the modern English speaking population. (Or at least the people who go to their churches.) Fortunately, those who fight against the spread of the Bible are doomed to failure. (No other book has been translated more times, nor has been printed more times. Even downloaded... the top download on "Project Gutenberg" used to be the KJV Bible, until they made changes to it's availability!)

On the other side of the issue, hidden behind the vitriol of the ranters, there really are issues with some of the manuscripts that have been included in many newer translations. Should that be left to the hands of experts? Who gets to choose the experts? Personally, having weighed the evidence available to me, I find the KJV to be the most accurate of the "English" translations. So, I use it to balance what I read in more modern, less accurate translations such as the NLT, NIV, and even the ESV and NKJV. I'm not saying that these translations are bad. God used the NIV (what I consider to be the least accurate of the "accepted" modern English translations) to open my understanding of His salvation. But, though I'm currently reading through the NIV, I find that I use it the least of all for my posts, or even in conversation with other Christians.

I believe we, God's people, should have a healthy debate concerning the translations available in our native tongues. We should not divide over them unnecessarily. However, everyone who doesn't teach out of the Wycliffe New Testament is wrong! ;-)

But what seith the scripture? The word is nyy in thi mouth, and in thin herte; this is the word of bileue, which we prechen. That if thou knoulechist in thi mouth the Lord Jhesu Crist, and bileuest in thin herte, that God reiside hym fro deth, thou schalt be saaf.
(Romans 10:8-9 Wycliffe New Testament, 1385)

(I love e-Sword!)

Tag(s): Bible

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Jesus Christ!

The name above all names (Eph 1:21), the only name by which we may be saved (Acts 4:12), and seemingly America's favorite curse word.

I was on a plane recently, and as we were coming into land, the landing gear made a loud noise and a bump which startled the woman seated behind me. "Jesus Christ!", she called out. It hit me like a slap, I wanted to turn around and say, "You should praise His name that the landing gear worked, not curse Him for startling you." But I didn't.

I was watching a movie, and I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of curse words, until at the nadir of the plot, the protagonist called out, "Jesus Christ!" in frustration and anger. I felt like leaving the theater, but I didn't.

I was on the phone with a fellow Christian. I mentioned a piece of disturbing news. He replied, "Jesus Christ!" I was momentarily stunned, I wanted to say, "Brother, we should always praise His name." But I didn't.

Lord, give me the strength to stand up for you and the wisdom and compassion to say the right words. If your name is going to be America's favorite curse word, then let me use that as an opening to spread your Gospel.

Tag(s): epithets

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Legalism: Limiting Worship to Truth Without Spirit

It's a funny thing. Legalism is (to my understanding) attempting to use the letter of the law to defeat the spirit of the law. For example I offer up this startling piece of legalism.
-> Musical Instruments in the Public Worship of God <-
Of course, legalism always fails when examined in the light of the law, at least God's Law.

It seems to me that the author (who claims that we should sing psalms only and those without musical accompaniment), fails to address Psalm 33:1-4

"Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth."

Specifically, Psalm 33:3,

"Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise."

(Boy does this apply to the service at the church I attend while at home!)

Or rather, if as the author claims, the use of musical instruments in worship ended with the death of Christ Jesus on the cross, then why does he contend that we should sing Psalms? What about the Psalms (that he claims the church should be singing) that mention praising God with musical instruments? There are 12 that mention the Harp, 8 that mention the Psaltery, 3 that mention an "instrument of ten strings", 3 that mention the trumpet, 2 that mention "players of instruments", 3 that mention the tembrel, 6 that mention a "new song", not to mention 3 that relate dance to the praising of God.

Finally consider that twice Paul told us we are to speak to and teach each other with "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" (Eph 5:19, Col 3:16). Does anyone really believe that Paul would use the phrase "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" to reference the book of psalms alone?

Anyway, any teaching, no matter how verbose and littered with scriptural references and man's traditions, which does not stand in light of the whole council of God (all of the Bible) is suspect. Everything should be tested against the scriptures.

God wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. These two things cannot be separated. If you try to worship in truth, but leave out the spirit, then you are actually failing to worship God. Most likely you are worshiping your own traditions (a god of your own making) instead. Likewise if your worship experience is all spirit and ignores or leaves out the truth, then it is not God that you are worshiping, at least not the God of the Bible. In this case you are likely worshiping the spirit of entertainment, of "feel good" (again a god of our own making).

So, should you sing psalms? Absolutely! Sing them with or without accompaniment. Shout to the Lord with joy! (or "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands." Psalm 100:1, my favorite!) And even applaud, clap your hands in joy to the Lord. And dare I say dance?

Psalms 98:1-9 KJV (A Psalm.) O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. ² The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. ³ He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. ⁴ Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. ⁵ Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. ⁶ With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. ⁷ Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. ⁸ Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together ⁹ before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Tag(s):legalism

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Like a Coal

Sorry I haven't posted very recently, and thanks for the encouragement. I don't think it is the road, exactly, that wears me down, it is the lack of fellowship I experience while on the road. My pastor likes to use a little illustration about fellowship, it goes something like this.

There was a man sitting in a pub, he hadn't been to church for several Sundays. When his pastor walked into the pub and sat down by the fireplace, the man felt a bit defensive and blurted out, "I know I haven't been in church the last few Sundays, but I've found that I can worship the Lord just as well by taking walks in the woods and enjoying the natural world He created." His pastor didn't say anything, but using the tongs he reached into the fire and pulled out a red-hot glowing ember and set it on the edge of the fireplace. As they watched, it quickly went from red-hot and glowing, to grey and ashy, and finally black and cold. The man turned to his pastor and said, "See you in church Sunday."

While I'm not exactly skipping church to go enjoy nature (or the current sporting event on TV); I am missing church. And I feel just like that coal. Sometimes when I'm on the road, God provides me with the opportunity to visit another church. I've been blessed that they mostly have been on-fire-for-the-Lord, Bible-believing and Bible-teaching churches. But most often I'm working 12 to 14 hour days, seven days a week. I try to listen to mp3's of teachings, read and study my Bible daily, and even to pray constantly; but none of that replaces fellowship. (Fellowship doesn't replace an active prayer life and solid Biblical study either!) It's interesting, how it all seems tied together to me. It is difficult to study and pray without fellowship. And without study and prayer it's difficult to stay in fellowship. I'm most-likely willing to skip fellowship, skip church, when I need it most. Same as with reading/studying and praying.

Anyway, I'm currently home and am planning to be in church in just a couple of hours from now (God willing!). That's another thing I've certainly been taught on the road. Whether or not I get to go to church is entirely in His hands! A couple of times (once should have been enough, but I'm a slow learner sometimes) when He made it possible for me to go to a church meeting I told someone there that there was no way I'd be able to make the next meeting... Then I found myself, at that next meeting, giving God the glory and eating humble pie, admitting that He is the one that determines whether I go to church or not!

God has His reasons, and they are good. He tells us that over and over again. I'll trust in Him, and pray that I learn the lessons that He is teaching.

When the man had left, the pastor placed the black coal back in the fire, and in short order it was red-hot and glowing again.

Tag(s):fellowship

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