I’ve Got Your Back by Jim Galvin

a review by Stuart Brogden

This book is subtitled, A Leadership Parable – biblical principles for leading and following well, and indeed most of this small volume is a story about common folk who are professing Christians struggling with life’s challenges and being gently educated by someone older and wiser. The second part of the book, one chapter, boils down the biblical principles contained in the 11 chapters of the parable and puts them squarely into their proper theological context.

Throughout the book, Galvin shows us application of biblical leadership principles, not so different from many books that do so, but leave out the person and the work of Jesus Christ – without Whom none of us can do anything good! This focus is made clear in the theological wrap up, but not so much in the parable. The author provides good counsel through his mentor, Jack, structuring three categories of leadership with 5 ways of following. Applying these in accordance with proper interpretation of the Bible, Galvin fails to press on the characters – and his readers – that all good we are able to do is by the grace of God in His Son. There is much talk about God and the Lord, along with much self-talk about making choices and facing fears – none of this is bad. It simply does not bring in the One in Whom we are able to do all things. This dawned on me as I was reading the last chapter – it’s subtle enough that one might not notice the absence of Christ from the parable, at least in a meaningful way. Chapter 5 is a prime example: quite a bit of Scripture presented showing how one is to live. Not a hint of the only provision we have for living right – only advice to “work harder”. Here’s the fine point – we are to work hard, but never thinking we are sufficient apart from Christ; not a one-time decision to follow Him, but a daily recognition that He is our strength and wisdom and strong tower.

Our author makes clear the monergistic aspect of our salvation, calling us passive in our justification, and he goes on to say that our sanctification is very much a cooperative effort in which we work hard and strive for godliness – “while remaining utterly dependent on his (the Holy Spirit) power.” Amen, hallelujah, praise the Lord! The first 9 pages of part 2 are very good and have a proper focus on our eternal dependence on God. Some of the content on pages 148 & 149 need to be woven into the parable; if the author thinks he put it there, it did not work for me, Christ is hidden.

I think Galvin’s categories of leadership and followship are mostly on target and will be valuable to the reader. The danger for all of us is to follow Jack’s lead in the parable and teach biblical principles apart from the person and the work of Christ Jesus, leading people to think they can do what the author tells us (in part 2) we cannot do – manage life with others in work and church without being a new creature in Christ and trusting in Him alone for strength and wisdom to live rightly in this evil age.

Read the book – but by all means do not fail to read part 2. The parable alone is not what the body of Christ needs. We need to be reminded to fix our eyes on the unseen, trusting in the Lord of Heaven for protection and provision now and for eternity. To Him be honor and glory and dominion forever!

“Teach Your Children to Fear the LORD
The primary teachers that God gives to children to teach them the words, ways, and works of God is their parents. One of the highest duties that parents have is the delightful privilege and lofty duty to teach their children the fear of the LORD.

It should be noted that in Psalm 34:11, the psalmist gathers the children (“come”) and then commits to teaching them verbally (“listen to me”). This here lays forth a helpful model for parental instruction of children. Parents should gather the children and verbally instruct the children daily.

The book of Proverbs reveals why this is so important as it is the fear of the LORD that is wisdom (1:7-8). If a child stores up the words of God within him then he will know the fear of the LORD (2:1, 5; 3:1, 7). Wisdom calls out and begs for the naive to understand wisdom (8:4-5).To know God is understanding and to fear God is wisdom and this is the fundamental building block of all biblical wisdom, knowledge, and learning that parents must instill in their children’s hearts and minds (9:10).

So the question is asked, how do you teach a child to fear God? Here are a few practical suggestions to help.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Living Waters is a good place to get tracts.

1. There is an undeniable zeal in some of the teachers of error: their “earnestness” makes many think they must be right.

2. There is a great appearance of learning and theological knowledge: many fancy that such clever and intellectual men must surely be safe guides.

3. There is a general tendency to free thought and free inquiry in these latter days: many like to prove their independence of judgment, by believing novelties.

4. There is a wide-spread desire to appear charitable and liberal-minded: many seem half ashamed of saying that anybody can be in the wrong.

5. There is a quantity of half-truth taught by the modern false teachers: they are incessantly using Scriptural terms and phrases in an unscriptural sense.

6. There is a morbid craving in the public mind for a more sensuous, ceremonial, sensational, showy worship: men are impatient of inward, invisible heart-work.

7. There is a silly readiness in every direction to believe everybody who talks cleverly, lovingly and earnestly, and a determination to forget that Satan often masquerades himself “as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

8. There is a wide-spread “gullibility” among professing Christians: every heretic who tells his story plausibly is sure to be believed, and everybody who doubts him is called a persecutor and a narrow-minded man.

All these things are peculiar symptoms of our times. I defy any observing person to deny them. They tend to make the assaults of false doctrine in our day peculiarly dangerous. They make it more than ever needful to cry aloud, “Do not be carried away!””

~ J.C. Ryle

Ergun Caner has been exposed as having embellished his resume in years past, and there is ample, irrefutable evidence of these lies. Rather than just admitting the obvious and apologizing, Caner is attempting to hide the evidence.

A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. (Matt 7:18)

We wouldn’t hesitate to point out the lies of a Muslim. We would expect Muslims to point out a prominent Muslim’s lies, and call for him to step down from his position. How can we, as Christians, do anything less than we would expect of Muslims? We should be all the more anxious to stand for the truth.

None of us want a prominent evangelical to be caught in immorality. But, if they’re unrepentant, we need to point out that they are in sin, and may not even be Christian. How can a true Christian be unrepentant for so many years? Caner needs to be removed from the evangelical talk show circuit, which has yet to happen.

To find more specific information, check out these items:

YouTube Joins in the Great Evangelical Cover Up

Dividing Line Episode from June 4, 2013

That battle to repent from my sins and to live a life that is pleasing to God has never been an easy one. In fact, one besetting sin stuck with me for over three years before God helped me to see just how wicked it was. Today I struggle with that sin, but I no longer dive head long into it. I make great efforts to never again set my feet anywhere near the path that leads me there. I rejoice when God gives me victory over sin, but I am ever aware that this wicked flesh is always waiting to find reason to transgress God’s law for its own satisfaction.

However, as of lately, I have become aware of multiple areas of sin in my life. Perhaps it is because my family and I have been going through many trials that I am more sensitive to His working in me. We certainly have had to rely on the Lord far more than ever before. As a result of that, I am becoming more aware of His working in our lives. And perhaps that is what has opened my own eyes to the sins I had previously ignored. Yet, it is my reaction to these areas of sin that is an even greater problem than the sins themselves. It is this area that I desire to share with you in hopes you can be edified and strengthened.

I have noticed that whenever I have begun to see an area of sin in my life that God is exposing, my first reaction, almost without fail, is to become upset, despondent, sad or depressed. I will practically shut down and begin to focus solely on myself and my failure to live up to the perceived standard I am supposed to live up to. I then complain about what a terrible Christian I am. I begin to seek comfort with family and friends, telling them about how bad I realize I am in the eyes of God. When they console me and tell me I am being too hard on myself, I feel refreshed, thinking I clearly have misunderstood what God was showing me. I then proceed on with my life as if nothing had ever happened.

Did you catch the sin? I see that God is showing me an area, or even areas, of sin, but rather than admit it and repent, I become introspective and complain to others. That is the sin. As a Christian, I am one time sanctified, made righteous in the eyes of God through the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In other words, my rebellion and wickedness is placed on Jesus at the cross, His perfect righteousness is accounted to me through repentance and faith. From that moment on, I am seen in God’s eyes as perfect, because all my sin – past, present and future – was punished at the cross. So no matter how often I stumble into sin, I am secure in the Father because I was purchased by the Son.

However, it does not stop there. Throughout my walk as a Christian, I am sanctified by God. That means that He is continually working to make me more like His Son. He is ever growing me through the reading of His word, expanding my understanding of the richness of His grace. He leads me in deeper prayer and worship, causing me to love Him more, and in turn, loving others around me. He causes me to care less about myself and to desire to serve Him alone. And He is also constantly exposing areas of sin in my life, leading me to repentance. God is purging me of my sins so that I may reflect my Savior in my thoughts, words and deeds. This process of sanctification is ongoing, never ending, right up until the day God calls me home. On that day, I will be glorified. I will be made perfect and will sin no more. But until that day, God sanctifies me and every other Christian He has redeemed in Christ. So the process of sanctification should be welcome in the life of every Christian. After all, God is refining us in the fire, removing the dross which is the sin for which Christ died. Yet, I find that rather than embrace sanctification, I am actually resisting it.

When I become morose over an area of sin in my life I am actually doing a couple of things. First, I am actually denying my own sinfulness. By acting shocked that God has revealed more sin in my life, I am claiming I should be able to not sin. If I am in fact, as the Bible describes me, a wretched sinner deserving nothing but judgment from God, then I should not be surprised that everything I do is tainted by sin. I should expect, daily, God to be showing me areas from which I need to repent. I should express concern over sin in my life, because sin is wickedness against God; however, I should not become distraught over it. By succumbing to emotional turmoil, I am actually stating that I believe I am capable of not sinning. I am ascribing to myself a kind of sinless perfection that exists only in God Himself.

Secondly, when I become this despondent over my sin, my inclination is to seek comfort in the eyes of others. By seeking their comfort, rather than repenting before God, I am actually trying to deny that sin which God has revealed. As I described above, I have personally complained to family and friends when I start seeing new sins in my life. I seek their comfort because I secretly believe that they will dull the edge of the sword which God used to expose me. When we run to others, asking them to reaffirm our personal image of ourselves, we are asking them to actually act in God’s stead as our judge. We value their opinion over God’s word because we believe their personal relationship with us will prevent them from saying anything too harsh about us, even if it is true. We are further sinning because we are setting up men in the place of God to judge us. And if you doubt this, check your reaction when a loved one doesn’t affirm you, but rather points out that sin God is revealing. If you are even more hurt by what they say, then you know that you were not asking for the truth from them, but a lie which would make you feel better.

So by ascribing to ourselves a kind of pseudo-perfectionism and getting others to affirm it, we are actively resisting God’s work of sanctification. We are denying that we need to repent before the Lord and submit to His holy work in us. This is utterly sinful, yet we can submit to it so easily. We can justify this mindset because we know that we should not sin, especially because we have a new understanding of how evil sin is. So we make the mistake of setting up personal, legalistic standards that we can then judge the progress of our Christian growth by. In doing so, we actually are falling back on idolatry because we become the judges of ourselves rather than God. In God’s eyes we are completely sinful and only the blood of Christ makes us righteous. In our own eyes, if we can reach certain benchmarks, we can declare we are righteous by what we do. When God exposes sins that we were previously unaware of, it deals a serious blow to the idolatrous view of ourselves. Wanting to reassert that view, we can easily fall into the trap of resisting God’s work of sanctification.

So what are we to do? The first thing is to remember who we are in Christ. Before we were redeemed, we were rebellious and wicked sinners bound for Hell. There was absolutely nothing good about us. By recognizing this, we can do away with the absurd notion that we are capable of not sinning at all. We will sin, even as new creations in Christ. But because we have been bought by His precious blood and have been made new by the Holy Spirit, we have been set free from the bondage of sin. We no longer have to sin. We will be tempted because our flesh is weak and longs to be satisfied. Because of that, we will fall into sin. Yet, because the power of the Holy Spirit resides in us, we can trust in God, being slaves to Him, to give us a way of escape when temptation comes. So we recognize that we are not capable of perfection of our own accord, but only in the power of Christ can we resist temptation and sin.

The other thing we can do is embrace sanctification. Rather than retreating into ourselves and grumbling over newly discovered sins (or the discovery that we are still struggling with the same ones) we should rejoice that our heavenly Father is at work in us. By revealing this area of wickedness, God is seeking to make us more like His Son. He is refining us into a tool fit for His use. If I am overly concerned that I am still sinning, yet I do not repent, it is like I am refusing to sharpen the blade on a dull axe. Instead of making the tool fit for use, I am demanding that God use the tool in its busted condition. It is a ridiculous notion to think that I am already a tool that is perfect in design and will never fail. But if I yield to the sanctification of God, He takes me as that busted and worthless tool and makes me into one that is perfectly designed for the job He has in store.

My encouragement to my brethren is to examine your own heart when it comes to sanctification. If you are angry at your sins, depressed and begging for affirmation, then you are denying the need for God’s perfect work in your life. If this is happening, repent, turn from that wickedness and yield to God. It is part of His perfect plan and will that you be made into a tool fit for His use and His glory. Therefore, I urge you to submit to and rejoice in His sanctifying work in you.

Last week, we studied the authority and clarity of Scripture. Anyone recall anything about those subjects and why they’re important? 

Today, we examine the necessity and sufficiency of Scripture. Again, two tightly connected attributes of God’s Word that are closely tied to the two we looked at last week. If any of these 4 attributes were to be determined false, it would call into question the entire cannon of Scripture. We study these attributes because they are important reminders of the character of our God and because it will equip us to stand against the wily schemes of Satan and countless minions.

Listen to this message here.

A similar tragedy occurred less than two years ago in another city near my home when a man entered a restaurant and opened fire. Several people were hurt and killed, including three National Guard soldiers. In the wake of that tragedy, a man had responded to an online news article by stating he hoped the murderer would never be forgiven by God and would forever burn in hell. The anger in that statement shook me to the core. It is right for us to feel a righteous anger at the unjust murder of any person. But for someone to wish the eternal, conscious torment of Hell on a person startled me. I believe the author of that comment did not understand his own sinfulness and the necessity of God’s justice to be applied against himself one day. Had he understood the righteousness and holiness of God, he would have seen his own anger and hatred for what it was, a sin against the God who he wished would cause the murder to be eternally condemned. I wrote my thoughts on that tragedy then, asking those who profess Christ as Lord to consider our reactions to such terrible crimes and to pray for those who commit them.

I want to be careful not to simply repeat what I wrote then; however, certain themes and principles bear repetition. When I heard of the horrendous nature of this crime, I could not help but feel anger at the loss of life and pouring of such evil near my home. Yet, according the word of God, all of us are wicked in the eyes of God. Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). Every person in this world possesses a heart of wickedness, born under the curse of the original sin of our federal representative, Adam. When he rebelled against God in the garden, all of Adam’s descendants were forever tainted with sin. Thus, all that we can conceive of and do is affected by our self serving, sinful nature. Nothing we can do of ourselves will ever be “good.”

In fact, the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3: 9-18:

“What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:
None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.
The venom of asps is under their lips.
Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Quoting from the Psalms, Paul makes the case that there is nothing about us that is good in the eyes of God. Even when we claim we believe in God and are trying to obey Him, Paul makes it clear that none of us actually are seeking after the true God. Because of our sin nature, we in fact create idolatrous versions of God. We seek to worship a god of our own creation, one who either will not take our sin seriously, or one which will allow us to do some sort of work to personally make up for it. Neither is the true God, but is in fact a god of self. We are worshiping our own perceived innate goodness, thus proving we are the very wicked sinners who Paul is writing about. Outside the regenerative work of Jesus Christ, we cannot truly seek after and worship God. Therefore, we will pursue the wicked desires of our own heart while professing our own self righteousness along the way.

Matthew 5:21-22 records the words of Jesus who said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Chris Himself declared that a person who harbors anger and insults another person will be judged the same as one who commits murder. In other words, whenever you have been angry at or felt hatred for another human being, God has seen you as wicked a sinner as the man who killed five people in my town. That is applicable to each and every one of us, myself included. That should terrify us. When I am horrified that my neighborhood was rocked by such evil, I should also remember that, in the eyes of God, I am as terrible a sinner as the one who committed the evil. God judges the thoughts and intents of the heart, not just the actions.

This brings me back to my original statement. When I thought of the tragedy committed by this man, I gave no thought to his eternal state before the Lord. I focused solely on the crime and the danger to my family. As a Christian, I know that I have sinned in the areas of anger and hatred. Yet, God in His mercy has forgiven me through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I rightly deserve His wrath, but Christ took the righteous judgment of God upon Himself for me at the cross. He suffered and died for the sins of my heart. He was buried, yet rose again, defeating death and granting me eternal life. If I know that I was deserving of such condemnation, but was forgiven, then I must desire to see even the most vile and wicked murderer to receive the precious gift of the gospel.

Does this mean that I should not be concerned about the terrible events in my neighborhood, and shouldn’t bother taking steps to protect my family. Certainly not. Knowing that I live in the midst of a wicked and perverse people, wisdom dictates that I be aware of the dangers that surround us and take to the proper steps to keep my family from harm. But I must also desire to bring the precious gospel to that same wicked and perverse people. I was a wicked sinner just as they were, yet I was saved by the blood of Christ. If I ever believe that somehow the crimes of someone are beyond the saving grace of Jesus, or that, because that criminal was so vicious, I simply could never share the gospel with them, then I prove myself an even greater sinner than the murderer. I write this to encourage my brethren to look at the tragedies that surround you in light of the gospel. Certainly, we can feel fear, sadness and even righteous anger. But never let us see ourselves as better than those who committed these crimes. Let us pray for them and even go to great lengths to bring the life saving gospel to their perishing souls.

Does The Fall reveal anything of the importance of these two issues?

Let’s take a look at Genesis, but bear in mind the nature of Scripture – the Word of God. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen 3:1) The first and primary point of attack of Satan and all his allies is to cause people – both, God’s redeemed and those who are lost – to doubt God; to doubt what He said, to doubt that He said anything; to doubt that He matters. Seeking to cloud what was clearly revealed by God to man is of utmost importance to the enemies of God. Often times, false teachers put false words in the mouth of God – But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:4-5) Falling for the wiles of Satan or the siren call of our own sinful desires will lead us away from the Truth of God’s Word, and displays a lack of contentment with what the Creator and Ruler of all things has decided was adequate to provide and reveal to us.

Listen to this message here.

Reblogged from The Peacemaker Chronicles:

I have been making my way through Paul's letter to the Philippians lately. In fact, I just completed my fourth time reading it this morning. Each time I make my way through, I realize just how depraved and wicked I am. It is exposing the worst sides of me and, honestly, I hate what I am seeing.

When I read Paul saying "...it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with all knowledge and discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ..." (1: 9, 10) I know that I have trusted in my limited knowledge of scripture and have not made a true effort to grow in my walk.

Read more… 1,045 more words

Yet, in His mercy, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live the life of perfection we could never achieve. Everything He ever did was in complete obedience to God, with no motivation other than glorifying the Father. Then Jesus willing allowed Himself to be placed on the cross so that the righteous wrath of God could be poured on Him in our place. He readily took the punishment we deserved and became the substitutionary sacrifice in our place. Then Christ rose Himself from the grave three days later, proving His power over death. Through the preaching of the gospel, God miraculously and mercifully granted us repentance and faith in Christ. He redeemed us through the shed blood of His Son and adopted us as His children.

Before God redeemed us and made us into new creations, such concepts were completely foreign to us. Sin, judgment, hell, sacrifice and redemption were concepts we may have heard of at some point; however, our minds were hardwired, due to our sinful nature, to see ourselves as good. If we even believed we were capable of being bad, then we believed we could do enough good to make up for it. The idea that Someone had to be punished in our place was ludicrous to us. Yet, God broke through that sin hardened heart with the gospel message which caused us to be broken over our sin and saved us from His wrath.

The reason I write this is that I need to establish a foundation for the rest of the article. It was only through the precious message of the gospel that Christians now understand the evil that resides in their hearts. Prior to that, sin was a foreign concept that could either be rationalized away or personally atoned for. The world is made up of billions of sinners whose hearts are hardened against God and His commandments. While they have knowledge of His existence according to Romans 1, they suppress that truth in unrighteousness. The law of God is written on men’s hearts, but they reject the authority God has over them, making themselves gods over their own lives. Consequently, the rampant sin we see in our world – sexual promiscuity, homosexuality, abortion, hatred, lust, covetousness – is the byproduct of a world governed by sin.

I now come back to my original question. Can the church reason with a world that hates Jesus Christ? Today, we see a lot of churches and Christian groups lobbying and protesting against the widespread debauchery of our day. Many are willing to link arms with co-belligerents (be they political, secular or religious) in an effort to bring “morality” back into the world. Often times, such groups will state that arguments of a philosophical or sociological nature are the means by which to achieve moral victory because the world rejects the Bible. The claim is that, because the world doesn’t understand the scriptures, it rejects them. Therefore, we cannot use the Bible as our source material. We must, they say, speak to them on their level and prove to them, without God’s word, that God’s morality is superior. In the end, if we can legislate a Christian worldview into existence, the world will be in a much better place.

Such an argument, on its surface can seem to have merit. After all, as stated above, mankind is utterly sinful and rebellious against God. Since that is the case, by bringing the Bible into the discussion seems to guarantee that they will reject what we have to say. However, that argument assumes that the purpose of the church is to somehow redeem culture. In other words, the job of Christians is to make the world a more moral and pleasant place to live. That by changing the standards of the laws and morality to a Christian worldview, life will be better. But is that really the mission of the church? I would argue that it is not.

When a person is redeemed in Christ, he is to live his life in such a way as to glorify the One who purchased him. A Christian does not exist to make the world a better place to live, but to serve as a beacon, a sign post pointing to Jesus Christ, the Savior. By living a life of obedience to God, and acknowledging Him in all that one does, the Christian testifies to the world that his allegiance is not to the fallen, sinful system of mankind, but to the One who will one day judge all men. Thus, his job is not to necessarily fix a broken system. Short of all mankind being saved in Christ, no system established in this world will ever be fixed. It will always be tainted by the sinfulness of the human heart.

The Christian’s calling then is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, the One who came to save sinners. Any attempt to cure societal ills (which is not the specific calling of the Christian) by arguing with worldly philosophies, allows people to believe that they, not God, are the chief authority in this world. We are allowing them to deny the power and lordship of Christ. They will continue to operate in the delusion that they are the ones who decide right and wrong, good and evil. Thus, without the Bible and the power of the gospel, the unregenerate world will continue to operate in its sin tainted worldview. Any changes that occur, moral or immoral, will still result in billions of souls condemned to hell, despising the God whom they have denied and rejected.

Therefore, the duty of the Christian is to always – not sometimes, but always – preach the gospel in any discussion we have with those in the world. If we are discussing homosexual marriage, the gospel teaches that sex was created by God for a man and a woman in the confines of a lifelong, monogamous marriage (which reflects Christ and the church). Any other act of sexual intimacy is a sin and rebellion against God and will result in the judgment of God. Thus, we stand against it and we proclaim that good news that Christ came to save homosexuals. If the issue at hand is abortion, the gospel says that all life is created in the image of God and that abortion is the murder of life created by God. Thus we stand against it and we proclaim that Jesus Christ came to save women who want to murder children and the abortionists who commit the detestable act. If the matter is a tyrannical government, the gospel teaches that God appoints leaders over people for the good of the people, that those under the government are to obey the leaders, and that God will hold those in account who abuse its citizens for their personal gain. Then we preach the good news that Jesus Christ can save even tyrannical leaders if they will but repent and trust in Christ alone.

Christians, we cannot reason with the unregenerate, Christ hating world on their terms. They have no reasoning outside of God and we only will feed their insatiable appetite for sin. We must always preach the gospel, regardless of whether the world agrees with it or not. The gospel is the power of God to salvation. Only the gospel can change sin hardened heart. Only the gospel can bring a dead man to new life. Let us be less about the winning of culture and be more about the winning of souls condemned to Hell. If we commit to be obedient in this calling, then the Lord will save whom He will save. And if scores of untold souls are saved, then the consequence may just be a society that desires to live morally because it loves the Lord who established true morality to begin with.

The Lord continues to bless the two mission works we were able to start as does the third church plant that was started by the national pastors in an interior village. We are excited to continue hearing of baptisms, of sins being confessed and repented of, and of marriages taking place where people were just living together before.

Many of you know my heart is in teaching and that this is one aspect of the work that I have missed since having to return to the USA due to my health.

While two or three have asked about the possibility of further ministry, the question remained of how we could be involved – that is, until now.

I have been in contact with a brand new community radio station that covers all 12 districts of Bong County where we lived and worked. They have just obtained a 1000 watt transmitter that is reaching out not just to Bong County, but in some of the surrounding counties and even over the border into the country of Guinea.

They have offered me an opportunity to produce teaching and preaching material on the radio in 30 minute increments. One of these would be early morning and late afternoon. This would be one day a week for a total of 4 hours per month reaching the jungle where there is NO Christian radio. The cost per month would be $250.

We already have been provided with the digital equipment and the software needed to make these recordings available to the station which is called Super Bongese FM.

The station has the ability to reach close to 500,000 people. At present, no other churches or religious groups have approached the station to broadcast their teaching.

Please pray with us about this possible endeavor and if you would desire to be involved with the costs involved, please contact me and we will provide further details. There is a great need for solid Biblical teaching and we would like to be able to continue this for the foreseeable future as the Lord provides.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cross-encounters/2013/05/06/cross-encounters–how-can-a-person-know-they-are-saved

In studying for a series on the book of Jonah, I revisited the three days and three nights as it correlates as a sign of Christ being in the grave for the same period of time. While there are many pages of information on the internet discussing the various theories, it is my desire to reduce this to its simplest form by the use of a simple chart showing our reckoning of time as compared to the Jewish reckoning.

First, while our day runs from 12:00 midnight through 12:00 midnight, the Jewish day started at 6:00pm and concluded at 6:00pm the following day.

Our time of Reckoning versus the Jewish Time of Reckoning can be seen in the chart below.

John 19:31 tells us that this was a High Sabbath and not the regular Sabbath. The word used for Sabbath is actually a plural word in the Greek and does present a further indication of the validity of there being more than one Sabbath depending on the year.

The Sabbath actually began on Friday evening at 6pm or sunset which would be the Jewish start of Saturday.

However, in the year 29 A.D., the High Sabbath or Holy Convocation began on Thursday evening at 6pm or sunset which would be the start of the Jewish Friday. We must remember that the Passover always was to take place on the 14th of the month Nisan or Aviv. The date Nisan 14, 29 A.D. began on Thursday evening at sunset.

The Jews accorded even a part of a day as a full day, but no matter how you do the math, you cannot get 3 days and 3 nights between Friday and Sunday morning.

Luke 23:50-56 gives the timeline of the women. They mark where His body lay and go home to prepare the spices.

Christ had already been dead at this point and was “in the heart of the earth.” This would have been the first day.

Thursday evening our time (Friday Jewish time) started the High Sabbath which was the Passover that year and went through Friday evening our time (Saturday Jewish time). This was the first night and the second day. They could not have returned on this Sabbath.

Friday evening our time (Saturday Jewish time) was another Holy Day and the regular Sabbath. This Holy Day was also the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This would have been the second night and the third day. They could not have returned on this Sabbath either.

Saturday evening our time (Sunday Jewish time) was the Feast of First Fruits that year and was exactly 1 week after Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In accordance with the law given to Moses, Christ was selected as the Lamb on Sunday, 7 days prior which would have been the 10th of Nisan as seen in Exodus. As He would not have violated the law, He could not have ridden into Jerusalem on the Saturday as that was the Sabbath Day.

The women would not have gone to the tomb at night which meant waiting until the early hours of Sunday morning to go and anoint the body of Christ, but He had already risen.

Finally, as a beautiful picture, Christ became 7 days later the First Fruits of those who slept. The Feast of First Fruits was to take place the first day of the week following the Sabbaths of the Passover Week.

So, to conclude, Christ could not have died on a Friday because of the timing of the calendar and a problem with arithmetic. We must conclude that Christ must have died on a Thursday in order for Him to be able to fulfill all of the law of Moses even down to the timing of when the Passover Lamb was to be selected and killed.

I hope this information is profitable and at the very least provides you further information to consider. Even the details are important in the Word of God. I welcome any thoughts any of our readers may have.

In 1991, Magic Johnson was diagnosed with HIV. Isaiah Thomas began to question whether Magic was a homosexual. In 1991, it was obvious why Magic Johnson would have been offended that his friend was questioning whether he was homosexual. I seriously doubt articles were written rebuking him. For the vast majority of men around in the 1990s, having someone doubt that you were 100% heterosexual was very offensive.

But sports writers today don’t see it that way. For example, this guy says:

It doesn’t matter how you got [HIV]. It doesn’t matter if some people thought you were gay, because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being gay. It’s as ridiculous as freaking out over whether or not people think you’re secretly left-handed.

Today, the big sports news is that Jason Collins announced he’s homosexual. He plays for the Boston Celtics. We are being assaulted with sports writers and newspapers falling all over themselves to applaud Jason Collins.

There is one exception to the deluge of accolades Collins is receiving. Chris Broussard had this to say on ESPN:

I think he did a great job answering the question.

As seemingly uniform as the honor Collins is receiving is the disdain Broussard is receiving.

For example, ESPN says, “We regret that a respectful discussion of personal viewpoints became a distraction from today’s news. ESPN is fully committed to diversity and welcomes Jason Collins’ announcement.”

It seems they’re not as excited about the diversity that Broussard brings. Some of those who pride themselves on their tolerance of perversion, cannot find it in themselves to tolerate Christianity, and are calling for Broussard’s career as an NBA commentator to be ended. This obvious inconsistency is because we all have a God-given conscience, and when Broussard calls sin a sin, he’s hitting the raw nerve that we all have–our conscience. For those who hate God, that is just too much to deal with, so they lash out at the messenger.

I doubt Broussard thought about whether he was putting his career at risk. Will those of us who do have the opportunity to think about what we’ll say choose career suicide and possible poverty or will we deny Christ and the truth? I think that we will all have to make that decision as the culture becomes more evil, but we should all make it today if we haven’t already. As for me, I choose Christ.

Matthew 16:26 says, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”

Matthew 10:28 says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

A good friend calls you to tell you that they are struggling with their current church and wants your advice on how to work things out. Your heart sinks as you realize that what he or she is wanting is not what they are asking for. The first or second time the phone call took place, you may have encouraged them to speak with the pastors or elders to try to work out any differences or resolve any issues. Now, the real reason they are calling you is not to seek your help and guidance in seeing relationships restored. What they really want is for you to say that it is acceptable for them to don their Peter Rabbit suit and hop to the next church that might or might not make them happy.

I am reminded of the old joke about the ship that stops at what they thought was a deserted island only to discover that an old man lives there as a castaway. Taking a tour, the man proudly shows off his little hut where he lives and takes the captain into another little building that has a steeple made of coconut palm leaves. He informs the captain that this is his church where he worships God. Thanking them for coming, the island castaway walks with them back down to their ship. However, the captain is intrigued about a third building that the man had said nothing about, so he asked him what it was. The old man replied, “That’s the church I used to go to!”

Sadly, hopping from church to church often becomes the normal pattern for many Christians. Instead of considering what may be wrong in their own life, the fault is always placed at the feet of the church that they used to attend. The sad reality is that even if they were to attend by themselves, like the old man on the deserted island, they would eventually find a reason to leave.

I have long contended that the reason people go to a church is more times than not the very reason why they will leave. As an example, if you go to a church because they have a great music program, when that ministry fails or begins to struggle, you will look for another church. The same is true if you go because of the programs or all the ministries designed to keep your children happy and entertained. If the really hip, cool, relevant youth leader leaves and the youth group dries up, you will soon be on the search for a new place to worship.

For the record, I am not discounting leaving a church because the church refuses to address sin, or because of a change in teaching to a doctrinal position that is clearly not in line with Scripture. I am speaking about the plague that has infiltrated churches to the point where members are switching from one church to another faster than they switch fitness clubs or switch from the latest diet to the next.

Now as honesty is the best policy, I am afraid that in the beginning of our marriage, I was there. We hopped so many times that I had a custom-made Peter Rabbit suit that I would wear before I even attended the first service. While I was ensuring that my family was with me, I was certainly not being a spiritual leader.

The normal routine was to schedule an appointment with the pastor. In that meeting, I would grill him on the usual “important” issues like the KJV Bible, or if they used CCM in their services, whether they had adequate programs to babysit my children when my wife and I wanted a break, etc., etc., etc. Yes, I remember playing the spiritual card of “We just want a place where we can serve and where our family can be fed!” That would normally score points with the pastor and his wife.

However, it may have been a week later, month later, or even a year later, we would become discontented with something that was being done and we would “miss” a Sunday to see if somebody came to visit or to call us. Eventually, my standard phrase became, “Well, I think we should be looking for a new church because we are not getting fed at this church! What do YOU think, Sweetheart?” That was always a good indicator for me as to whether she was unhappy with the church as much as I was or whether I was just looking for an excuse to leave so we would not have to become too committed.

I can remember a conversation with my father one day while we were in the midst of yet another church hop. His comment was, “Son, I’m sure that every church around your area can’t be bad! What is it you are looking for?”

That was a good question and the standard answer was usually, “mumble-mumble-mumble-just don’t feel like I am getting fed-mumble-mumble-mumble.”

Looking back, I realize that not all churches and pastors we visited or were part of it for awhile were preaching false doctrine or involved in covering over issues of immorality. Some of the churches were struggling works or small and it was just easy to come up with excuses about how we “need more teaching for ummmm…yeah, more teaching for the kids.” That was the answer! Some of the churches were large though and the excuses then would be, “well, we feel like we are just a number and our needs are being overlooked!”

But the truth is that until I was willing to find a place that was first and foremost doctrinally sound, the rest of what we were looking for was actually irrelevant. Further, when we found a place where doctrine was the focus along with expositional ministry of the Word, I should have been thankful that somebody cared enough to feed my soul and my family as we worshiped together. However, this was rarely the case because doctrine was not as important to me as I thought it was or as I pretended it to be. You see, if doctrine was really important, THAT would have been the reason why I remained instead of looking for another excuse to run to the next place.

So instead of focusing on learning and how I could be a blessing to others, I simply became Peter Rabbit again and laid the blame for the next hop on the previous pastor or church we were attending.

However, this plague that is devastating to churches is a problem that occurs for two main reasons. It is often these two reasons or a closely related one as to why I and others like me would have hopped from church to church, or even why you or somebody you know is still getting plenty of usage out of their Peter Rabbit outfit.

First, pastors and elders have made it too easy to be part of their social club. Having been there as a pastor, I can recall how great it felt to finally get some visitors to come in to service. Of course, in our desire to see them back again, we would invite them to lunch to get to know them. While there is nothing wrong with taking guests home for Sunday lunch, there were times when during the conversation I would be listening to all the things they would tell me they had done in their previous church and how eager they were to find a church where…yep, you guessed it…where as they would put it, “We just want a place where we can serve and where our family can be fed!” Hmmmmm, where had I heard that before?

My problem was that I was focusing on numbers instead of disciple-making. What I should have been asking was WHY were they leaving their previous church? Was it a doctrinal difference or was this another church hop? Then, I could have clarified WHAT kind of doctrinal difference would cause them to initiate an upheaval in their family and leave their local fellowship behind. When it got to the point where they were expressing an interest right at the beginning, I should have taken the time to contact my fellow brother and colleague to verify there were no hidden issues.

The problem would become compounded if there were issues or if the family was not leaving their previous church due to moral or doctrinal problems, and by accepting them into our assembly, we were choosing to overlook the issues hoping that our church would be the catalyst that might throw them into a better relationship with God. Sometimes that does happen, but I am afraid that accepting problems from one church is only going to add to the problems that already exist in your own ministry. By accepting the problems when a person is leaving for an unbiblical reason, we have not helped that previous church or pastor, nor have we helped the family looking to join, nor have we helped our own church.

Another sordid example from my own life came home to roost when I first pastored in England. Like the times when we would leave a church for the wrong reasons, we had some folks do the same with us where I was pastoring. It caused quite a bit of turmoil, and while they left because in their words, “We prefer to go somewhere that we can hear nice, fluffy messages,” they simply ran right down the road and were accepted into membership there. I never received one phone call, but neither did I attempt to contact the other pastor. As far as I was concerned, “He could have the problem if they want members that bad!”

Now I recognize that not all leavings fit into this category, but I have found that many do. It is hurtful and does not portray a unity within the body of Christ to those who watch us from the world.

Today, my ministry is different and I hope there are a few areas in which I have grown considerably. Numbers are not so important any more and I try to be content with those whom God has placed in front of me each week at each meeting that I have the privilege of opening His Word. When I speak with a person now, I want to know the answers to those hard questions that I should have been asked and that I should have asked in prior ministries.

And if our assembly accepts somebody into the fellowship, my prayer is that it will be for the right reasons and that they will be coming for the right reasons. I do not offer programs with the hopes that more will come and I have no desire to present people for acceptance if they look like they are hopping to avoid problems that they refuse to address either in their own lives or that might just be a minor difference or even based on a personality conflict. I do ask them if they have sat down with the leadership at their previous church and spoken about their concerns. If they have not, I do tell them that I will contact the leadership to see if we have their blessing to work with the family and if there are any concerns of which we need to be aware.

As a little side note, there is something to be said for the “letters of commendation” given from one church to another as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 16. I am NOT talking about the little postcard sent when people transfer their membership by letter either. But that should probably be a post for another day.

Now on to the second problem for the plague of church-hopping and it is fairly simple. Members today have little to no commitment for the hard things of God or His Word. As long as they do not have to be committed, nor are expected to be committed, they will continue donning the Peter Rabbit suit as often as it suits their whims or desire for the latest and greatest programs racing the church circuits.

Commitment seems to be a dirty word in many circles. It requires that we give up our pet foibles and whims in an honest desire to share fellowship with brethren around what is important. What is important is what is clearly stated in Scripture, and not the latest battles raging today over minor issues like Bible versions, style of music, or a whole host of other concerns that are separating brethren that are not worth the fight and only make us look foolish to the watching world.

To conclude, my encouragement to fellow pastors and elders is to be careful who we consider allowing into our midst. Sometimes wolves start off looking like nice fluffy little pups. We are to guard our flocks in our calling as overseers and this will require taking a more proactive stance on dealing with issues like the perennial Peter Rabbits. Brothers, we are not islands to ourselves and should be working to fellowship with others who are like or simmilarly minded in doctrine and teaching. Our churches profit little if all we are doing is growing by sheep-stealing.

And, to my fellow brothers and sisters, from past personal experience, the Peter Rabbit suit is not all that it is cracked up to be. It is uncomfortable to wear for you and your family and to those you keep leaving behind. Wearing the suit will normally only serve to get you all hot and bothered. Then you will end up looking for fellowship in all the wrong places and for all the wrong reasons. It is time that we take the suits off and don’t bother hanging them back up in the closet to wear another day. It is time they were destroyed and that we started seeing commitment to God and His Word, and to have a heart to deal with the problems as they arise.

In all this, our one desire should be 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD!”

I just finished reading Jerome Zanchius’ book that a dear brother was so kind to give me. Wow! I wept and rejoiced and thanked the Lord for faithful men who have gone before. Thanks be unto God for the dear brother who worked to bring this book back to life. Absolute Predestination is an awesome work explaining systematically and biblically why this doctrine is true, what it means, and why it must be preached. I will treasure this book until the Lord deems my days are done. What follows is a short review and exhortation for my brothers and sisters to take this book and read. You can buy it here: http://www.heritagebooks.org/absolute-predestination-introduction-by-joel-beeke/

This current publication is from Free Grace Press and includes a very informative introduction by Joel Beeke. Zanchius was an Italian who lived in the early to mid 16^th century, grew up as a Roman Catholic and served as a monk. It was during this time he read some Martin Luther, Martin Bucer, and John Calvin and was soon converted into a Christian. He lived the balance of his life studying, teaching, and writing and was widely considered a highly valued author of Reformed theological studies – all of which were in Latin. Nearly 200 years later, an Englishman ran across his Latin writings on predestination. Augustus Toplady was converted in his teen years and held to the free will teachings of his contemporary, John Wesley; until “an old man challenged him to stop arguing long enough to ask himself: Did he have any part in obtaining God’s grace? Wouldn’t he have resisted God’s grace if the Spirit left him to his own will? These questions from a Wesleyan brother stabbed him to the quick.” And so Toplady began a study on the sovereign grace of God, learned Hebrew and Greek, and embraced the sweet doctrines of grace commonly called Calvinism.

Toplady served in many churches as pastor, but initially held back from preaching on sovereign grace – focusing his sermons on justification by faith and holiness of life, as was taught by Wesley. “People liked his preaching, but few were converted. When he began preaching predestination as the eternal source of our salvation in Christ, many were angry with him, but many other were truly converted to Christ.” Amen! This is how the true gospel works – it was how the Apostle Paul experienced it. The true gospel (for there is no other gospel) is preached. Some will hate you for it, others will rejoice and beg to hear more. Those who have been given ears to hear will hear! Praise God!

As time went by, Toplady conversed with Wesley and denounced his old teacher. As A.W. Pink turned a bit sharp in his criticism of dispensationalism once he left that theological train wreck, so did Augustus Toplady in his critique of the spiritual ship wreck of Arminianism.

Toplady translated Zanchius’ book into English and, by his own admission, heavily edited it in places to as to provide a more complete treatise on the topic. It is hard to tell where one writer hands off to the other, as the reader works his way through this book. With that, here’s a brief review of this most excellent little book. Zanchius lays out each chapter as a progressive argument, moving through myriad positions as he documents six key areas that help us comprehend the sovereignty of God and our need of Him.

The Preface is written by Toplady and titled Observations on the Divine Attributes. We are quickly introduced to this author and this work by two stark statements. “I cannot help standing astonished at the pride of impotent, degenerate man. … The Scripture doctrine of predetermination lays the axe to the very root of this potent delusion.” Having personally left Wesley’s doctrine behind, Toplady declares that this book is needed because “Arminianism is the grand religious evil of this age and country.” We can only imagine what he might have said in response to Charles Finney! In bringing his preface to a close, Toplady reminds us that words have meaning, or else they are worthless, and then defines predestination as “God’s determinate plan of action.” And then he reservedly reveals his opinion on the theological construct he had left behind – “He that made all things either directs all things he has made, or has consigned them over to chance. But what is chance, but a name for nothing. Arminianism, therefore, is Atheism.”

Zanchius’ first chapter has the same name as Toplady’s Preface – they are not the same! In this opening chapter, our servant of God desires us to know more about the Lord, acknowledging He is beyond our comprehension, but not entirely; and that He wants us to know Him as He has revealed Himself in Scripture. Zanchius’ pen will help us better understand: (1) God’s eternal wisdom and foreknowledge; (2) The absolute freedom and liberty of His will; (3) The perpetuity and unchangeableness both of Himself and His decrees; (4) His omnipotence; (5) His justice; and (6) His mercy. Without these attributes explained, Zanchius claims the doctrine of predestination cannot be properly grasped. While every argument in this chapter is worth careful reading, the series of statements and expositions under (2) cannot go without special mention. Here is the summary paragraph from the end of that section:

“From the whole of what has been delivered under this section head, I would observe that the genuine tendency of these truths are not to make men more indolent and careless, or lull them to sleep on the lap of presumption and carnal security, but (1) to fortify the people of Christ against the attacks of unbelief and the insults of their spiritual enemies. And what it so fit, to guard them against these, as the comfortable persuasion of God’s unalterable will to save them, and of their unalienable interest in the sure mercies of David? (2) To withdraw them entirely from all dependence whether on themselves or to any creature whatever; to make them renounce their own righteousness, no less than their sins, in point of reliance,and to acquiesce sweetly and safely in the certain perpetuity of His rich favor. (3) To excite them, from a trust of His goodwill toward them, to love God who has given such great and numberless proofs of His love to men, and, in all their thoughts, words, and works, to aim, as much as possible, at His honour and glory.”

Is this not the goal of Christian exhortation and life? What Christian would be opposed to this?

In chapter 2, titled Defining Terms, we are given biblically based expositions on The Love of God, The Hatred of God, Election, Reprobation, The Purpose of God, Foreknowledge, and Predestination. This last is presented with a four-fold definition. (1) God did from before time determine and ordain to create and dispose of all creation with the over-arching reason to bring glory to Himself. (2) As relates to mankind, God created Adam in His image and allowed him to fall and take all humanity (and creation) with him as the federal head. (3) As relates to the elect, God chose before time to redeem some in time by faith in Christ. Such are justified, adopted, sanctified, and preserved safely to the end of this age. (4) As regards the reprobate, it is God’s eternal sovereign and immutable will whereby He has determined to leave some men in their sin to be justly punished.

Chapters 3, 4, and 5 discuss predestination as it relates to All Men, to the Saints, and the Ungodly. It is most useful to see this doctrine discussed in detail in these three distinct applications, as much confusion reigns among men when important terms are not defined and applied properly. In the 3^rd chapter, Zanchius shows from Scripture that God has predestined the ends of men, that He decreed The Fall, that the elect will be saved, the reprobate damned. Each of these is explored in detail after a brief introduction. The chapter closes with a wonderful quote from Augustine: “Brethren, let us not imagine that God puts down any man in His book and then erases him, for if Pilate could say, ‘What I have written, I have written,’ how can it be thought that the great God would write a person’s name in the book of life and then blot it out again?”

Predestination of the Saints, chapter 4, ought to give everyone born of the Spirit joy and supreme assurance of being safe in the refuge of Christ – it is full of Scriptural support for the monergistic saving act of God in the life of every saint. Zanchius includes two excellent bits of counsel as he wraps us this most important chapter – Christians ought to believe the redeemed standing of other Christians (based on sober reflection of evidences that bear witness to same). For how, he asks, can we love one another rightly if we do not believe they, also, are loved with same everlasting love as we? Then he remands us to never judge any man to be a reprobate. He says that we may infer the election of some by the marks and appearances of grace in their lives, but we cannot know sure enough to claim that any person is damned while he yet breathes – because a man who is a reprobate today may have been chosen before time and decreed to repent and believe upon Christ tomorrow! Presumption is sinful and we ought not walk in it; we are, rather, to walk in humility and love – proclaiming the saving gospel to dead men everywhere.

Chapter 5 presents Predestination as it relates to the Ungodly – something I dare say most of us have not thought of. But just as there will be those on the Lord’s right hand on that great day of judgment, there will also be those on His left hand (Matt 7). In explaining predestination to the Romans, Paul reminds us what God had said – “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”. So in Matt 7, when Jesus is telling those on His left hand that He never knew them, He is saying, “I have always hated you.” How differently we tend to discuss the enemies of God in our day! Our mantra is, “God loves everybody” or “God is love”, as if He had but one dimension. There can be no true, biblical love from God if He is compelled to love everyone. He cannot be holy if He accepts those who are not justified. God does not “hate the sin but loves the sinner.” He is angry with sinners all day long! While some will hate this talk, it is the revelation from God Himself – and redeemed saints ought not to shy away from uncomfortable truths.

The last chapter is Predestination as it Relates to the Preacher. In this surprising (to me) chapter, the author makes the case that preaching this doctrine is necessary for the spiritual health of God’s people that He has gathered in each local church. He warns, “Let it, however, be preached with judgment and discretion, i.e., delivered by the preacher as it is delivered in Scripture, and no otherwise.” This doctrine is such that men twist it and deny it – meaning that the wisdom of man is totally insufficient to explain or defend it. So Scripture alone is the rule. Further, since “Election is the golden thread that runs through the whole Christian system,” any gospel preached without it is not the gospel!

Zancius invites us ponder Matt 11:25 & 26, in which he declares that “Christ thanks the Father for doing that very thing which Arminians exclaim against us is unjust, and censure us as partial.” And in Matt 24:22 – 24 the Lord “teaches (1) that there is a certain number of persons who are elected to grace and glory, and (2) that it is absolutely impossible for these to be deceived into total or final apostasy.” Preachers must preach predestination and the sovereignty of God because “Whilst a man is persuaded that he has it in his power to contribute anything, be it ever so little, to his own salvation, he remains in carnal confidence.” This may be the biggest concern in churches in our day – so many men convinced they are “OK with God” because they chose Him! They think God did His share and they must do theirs – not realizing that this system leaves them on the wrong side of the Tiber river. Predestination gives sinners a more accurate picture of both God and man, showing the grace of God – which stands against human worthiness. A footnote shows from Scripture why this doctrine must be preached, for the good of the saints – “do not my words do good to him that walks uprightly?” (Mic 2:7)

There truly is too much good and godly counsel in this book for me to comment on it all. But let this review close out with this glorious exhortation from this dear brother from another century.

“How sweet must the following considerations be to a distressed believer! (1) There most certainly exists an almighty, all-wise and infinitely gracious God. (2) He has given me in times past, and is giving me at present (if I had but eyes to see it), many and signal intimations of His love to me, both in a way of providence and grace. (3) This love of His is immutable; He never repents of it nor withdraws it. (4) Whatever comes to pass in time is the result of His will from everlasting, consequently (5) my afflictions were a part of His original plan, and are all ordered in number, weight and measure, (6) The very hairs of my head are (every one) counted by Him, nor can a single hair fall to the ground but in consequence of His determination. Hence (7) my distresses are not the result of chance, accident or a fortuitous combination of circumstances, nor of Satan getting ahead of God, but (8) the providential accomplishment of God’s purpose, and (9) designed to answer some wise and gracious ends, nor (10) shall my affliction continue a moment longer than God sees meet. (11) He who brought me to it has promised to support me under it and to carry me through it. (12) All shall, most assuredly, work together for His glory and my good, therefore (13) “The cup which my heavenly Father hath given me to drink, shall I not drink it?” Yes, I will, in the strength He imparts, even rejoice in tribulation; and using the means of possible redress, which He has or may hereafter put into my hands, I will commit myself and the event to Him, whose purpose cannot be overthrown, whose plan cannot be disconcerted, and who, whether I am resigned or not, will still go on to work all things after the counsel of His own will.”

At the end of this book, I was left undone by the glorious mercies of God, in choosing to save His enemies – and me being counted among the redeemed. If that last paragraph does not cause your soul to rejoice in wonder and praise and adoration – you need to examine yourself to see if you be in the faith. Christ is all glorious, all powerful, and victorious. By His blood he has purchased a people to be trophies of grace that He will present to our Father on that great and terrible day when all the deeds of men will be judged. The earth and sky will try to flee from the face of God and the wrath of the Lamb, but there will be no place to hide. But ALL whose names were written in the Lamb’s book of Life before the foundation of the world shall be welcomed to the wedding feast when the Lord consummates His eternal plan of redemption! Christ is our refuge and strong tower – He is sufficient! We need no other plea. Run to Christ, cry out for mercy. Seek Him while it is yet today.

Psalm 133:1 reminds us that it is good for brothers to dwell together in unity. Yet, this is rare. Dwelling together in unity seems to be either a bygone relic or conjures up the idea of living in a commune with other Christians.

Let’s consider a far too common scenario in the average evangelical church that goes something like this. People get up on Sunday morning, rush around, and show up late for one service. Many mouth the songs projected on the wall while their minds wander to the events that will need to transpire during the coming week. The pastor/teacher stands with a prepared word of exhortation and edification while a few more either doze off to sleep or make further plans for the next week. Finally the service is over and many bolt for the back door before somebody catches them, especially the pastor!

Jumping in their vehicles, the majority leave almost before the strains of the benediction have died away. The rest of the day there is no further thought of those with whom they were just “worshiping.” The entire week is filled with various activities that are designed and orchestrated by the world to keep us from interacting with one another. So, the week rolls quickly by and we fall exhausted into bed late on Saturday evening only to get up and run through the same routine again on another Sunday morning. Patting themselves on the back, they justify what they have just done because everybody else does it.

For those who fail to submit to the normal protocol, we might even loudly proclaim in a self-righteous tone and/or demeanor, “Well, Hebrews 10:25 says, ‘not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.’” (ESV)

However, is one rushed service on a Sunday really assembling ourselves together? Is such behavior among the people of God truly permit us to proclaim to the world that we are not neglecting one another? To ask further, how is little to no interaction throughout the week and certainly none on Sunday actually “encouraging” one another?

Surely, this cannot be all that the writer of Hebrews was exhorting and encouraging the believers to do was a small one hour window on a Sunday morning. Is this all that is required? At what point did we fellowship.

The teaching elder may have even stood and reminded us that worship is not just something we do on a Sunday morning between 10:30 and 11:30. Our corporate interaction is to be a direct reflection of our own personal, private, and family worship throughout the week being manifested before the world and our brethren of the wonders of the triune God.

But, was our corporate worship truly a reflection of the worship in which we were engaged throughout the week? Or, is our Sunday one hour offering all that we can manage to give because it conflicts with our overwhelming pursuit of the Great American Dream?

This is compounded by the fact that in our coming together, we give little time for prayer which should be another uniting factor. The requests normally mean nothing to everybody but the person giving it because we actually know little of those with whom we are worshiping. Prayer time can often be lifeless or another ritual that we go through because the Bible commands we pray without ceasing.

Yes, there is the rare church fellowship where most seem to sit in preassigned seating and everybody walks out full but with no greater knowledge of their brothers and sisters than when they came that morning.

Oh yes, we also have the time of a bereavement when everybody shows up with the never-ending green bean casseroles. We sit around awkwardly wondering what to say either to the family that is suffering and then with a quick whispered, “We’ll be praying for you,” we fade back into the twilight until the next event that “pulls” us all together again.

While their doctrine is wrong and damning, we could learn much from groups like the Mormons, the Muslims, the Amish and others. They spend a great deal of time together. They laugh together. They mourn together. They build their homes together and they see each other throughout the week. Weddings, funerals, or normal every day activities are not the cause for their fellowship. These are simply products of who and what they are. Their connections are strong.

But along comes the evangelical seeking to share the gospel with a person from one of these groups. The invitation is extended to pay the local church a visit and every now and then, the invitation may be accepted. Walking out of a cult that shows preferential treatment to every person within their midst, the cult or religious person walks in and observes – well, nothing extraordinary. People sitting off to themselves and most do not seem to know one another.

The prayer time is a perfunctory measure that sounds lifeless, there is no fellowship, and there seems to be no encouragement to interact with others throughout the week. But wait, yes, there is a house group that meets during the week. Maybe that will be different from what was seen on Sunday.

Accepting the extended invitation, the person shows up and listens to talk about everything from the weather to the latest job news. The conversation covers the scores from the professional ball games since last Sunday, and again, sadly, all of the communication seems so lifeless. There are little to no connections between those who have gathered together. A quick prayer and short Bible study later, everybody departs still not really having a clue as to who the brother or sister sitting next to them may be struggling with or whether they might have something in which they may rejoice together.

The beloved apostle recorded the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” He writes again in the epistles of 1 & 2 John that it is not a new commandment, but an old one that we are to love one another.

How can we say we have love for one another when we cannot stand to be with one another for more than one hour per week? How can we say we love our brethren when we very little about them? How can we attest of our love for each other to the world when visiting with each other throughout the week only works if we live within a 10 minute drive from each other, and everybody outside the 10 minute drive is too much of a chore to visit because anything more is an inconvenience?

Whatever happened to the older men and women teaching the younger? I venture to say that so many churches are either catering to the young people or a small group of old people sit week after week wishing and hoping that some young families will come and visit. When the young families visit though, all they receive is a quick handshake and a “Hope to see you again” and we are all off on our merry way again. The young families never come back again and we proclaim that they obviously wanted the latest and greatest programs for their children.

Is it possible that what the young family really wanted was an opportunity to be connected with somebody who would love them, welcome them, and make them feel like they were truly part of a family? Maybe they want a church where the older gray-haired couples will assume the role of surrogate grandparents and help encourage their children in the ways of the Lord. I guess we can never know when we never extend the offer of help, love, friendship and fellowship that extends beyond a one hour window on a Sunday.

I welcome your thoughts and comments. How can we (or even how do you) bridge the widening gulf of no fellowship that is so prevalent in evangelical churches? Instead of placing the blame on the pastor, elders, deacons, or anybody else, what should each of us be doing to exhibit the love of Christ that has been shed abroad in our own hearts to a world that is lost and dying with the Savior?

In a recently released book, Anthony Carter documents in thirteen short but deep chapters how blood work is crucial to the health of the body of Christ. The book, Blood Work – How the Blood of Christ Accomplishes our Salvation, takes a refreshing and humbling look at the death of Christ and how His blood avails for us. The body of Christ depends on the blood work of the cross.

The Bible has more to say about the blood of Christ than the cross and the death of Christ. Though all three of these are intrinsically linked, it is the blood of Christ that is most often mentioned as being critical to our spiritual health, such as in Rev 12:11 – And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

The blood work of Jesus Christ reconciles sinners to Holy God. Our eternal safety and security depend on His blood work.

Carter tells us that our religion is a bloody one – not because of the renegades who wrongly shed the blood of men in the Crusades, the Great Inquisition, and other sinful actions by professing Christians. Christianity is a bloody religion because the perfect Lamb of God was predestined to be slain to take away the sins of people throughout the world – as many were called and believed on Christ.

In his book, Carter reminds us that we are purchased by the blood of Christ; cleansed by the blood of Christ; ransomed, justified, redeemed, sanctified – and more! – all by the blood of the Lord Jesus, who is the Christ. Rather than shrinking back from talking about the bloody cross of the Lord, we are encouraged to embrace and proclaim it! His blood avails for each of His chosen ones and without it none of us can be reconciled or brought near to God. It is foolishness to the world and all who are perishing – but the cross of Christ is the power of salvation to those who are being saved.

This book reminds us of what is essential for the body of Christ – we need good blood work. And there is none better than that of Jesus Christ. It is a bloody cross to which we cling, it is that blood spilt on Calvary that cleanses us from sin – all other blood stains us. Proclaim the blood of Christ – without His blood work none will be justified or reconciled to Holy God.

O precious is the flow

That makes us white as snow.

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This book available here in several formats.

2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 tells us “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” What this is teaching us is that God allows us to endure suffering and affliction and that He comforts us in that affliction. In turn, we then can comfort others in their suffering, with the same comfort we received from God. That is to say that one of the reasons we endure suffering is so we can be comforted and in turn we can comfort others who suffer.

It sounds like a crazy revolving door, yet it makes a lot of sense. If the world were just one giant accidental cosmic burp, as evolution teaches us, then there is not one thing in which we can find comfort in our suffering. In fact, suffering and affliction should be exalted because it is what culls the weaker of the species off. We should not seek to comfort those who are hurting; we should let them die off because they are too weak to handle the harsh realities of life.

Yet, it is in the gospel that we find the reason for comfort. God created the entire universe, this massive, seemingly endless expanse. And tucked away in one tiny portion of it, He created a planet where He placed mankind. There, He placed the breath of life into man and gave him dominion over all His creation. God gave man but one command, to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Yet, Adam, in his wanton rebellion, ate of the tree, ushering in death and forever tainting mankind in sin. The creation was perfect, no suffering, no death, and no affliction. Yet, the perfect creation was forever marred by the sin of man. Now mankind must endure suffering because of the wickedness of his heart.

God then promised Adam that from his descendants would one day come a Seed that would defeat death and redeem fallen man. In that promise was comfort. It was a promise that despite what man brought upon himself, God would one day rescue him from it. That promise was fulfilled when the Son of God came down from His throne and took on humanity. Jesus Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to the law of God, yet He willing received the wrath of the Father at the cross and took the full punishment that all sinners deserve. Following His death, Christ was buried in the tomb, yet rose Himself three days later, defeating sin and death. God promised comfort to those who would recognize their sinfulness before a holy Judge, who would repent of those sins and throw themselves at the foot of the blood stained cross, crying out in faith to the One who had died for them. That comfort was given when sinners were made sinless in the eyes of God, being given the righteousness of Christ in exchange for the sinful burden He nailed to the cross.

All those who have ever trusted in Christ – those looking forward from the promise made to Adam in the garden and those looking back at the finished work of the cross – have the comfort of knowing that their sins are forgiven and that they will experience eternal life in the presence of their Savior. But they also have comfort in knowing two other things. One, that when they enter into that eternal life, all pain and suffering will come to an end. And that, two, while in this life, all the pain and suffering they endure will happen only because the sovereign will of God has allowed it. No momentary affliction, no matter how intense, will be felt without the express decree of God. And in that is great comfort, because if God has willed it, then it is for His glory and our ultimate good.

How can pain and suffering be good? First, it reminds us that this life is only temporary. This world, as beautiful and amazing as it can be, is a fallen, busted wreck. It is tainted by the effect of sin brought into it by man. Because it is in this state, one day, God will destroy it all and create a new heavens and a new earth. Suffering in this life reminds us that God’s sovereign decree is that one day He will bring all things into judgment. Only those who have repented and placed their faith in Christ while be spared His righteous wrath, poured down in fire from Heaven. Suffering causes us to long for that day when He will restore His creation, and reminds us to hold onto this world with very light hands.

Secondly, suffering causes us to realize we are not in control of our lives. There is nothing that happens to us that God has not ordained. Therefore, no matter how hard we try to orchestrate the events of our lives so that we have the great success and most comfort possible, only God can determine what the next day (or hour, or even minute) will bring. Suffering humbles us and causes us to understand that we cannot for even one moment be in complete control of our lives. We wholly depend upon God for life and breath. Therefore, suffering makes us cling tightly to the Master of our destiny, knowing that everything He does is right and good. It frees us from trying to be the ultimate director in the play that we try to write for ourselves. It causes us to rest in Him who ordained it from the very beginning.

Of course, such rest does not come easily for us sinful beings trapped in this tainted flesh. That is why God continually allows suffering and affliction to tear us from the grasp of wretched and rebellious world. With each new trial in our lives, if we will but cling to the Master, the pain we feel will be comforted by the very One who brought us into that suffering. And as He carries us through it, we can look back and see where He has refined us into a fine and precious tool, created for His workmanship. Then we can know that the suffering we endured was for His purposes, and for our ultimate good.

I implore you know, if you are going through a terrible trial, cling to the Lord. Know that He is using this time to make you into something He will use. It is not easy, it is most certainly painful. If you will but trust in Him alone, not so that you may gain something from it, but so that you may bring glory to Him, then you will find that one day you can be a comfort to someone else who is enduring a time of testing. You can testify to how God used your pain to strip away those things that kept you trapped in a sinful mindset. How He humbled and purified you, how He made you fit for His use. During this time, do not cry out as if this suffering never should have occurred to you. Know that, were God to give us what we truly deserve, this light affliction would be nothing compared to His judgment. So glory in His mercy that this time of hurting is His work in you, and find comfort in knowing there is not one thing God has allowed in your life that is not a blessing from Him

On my part, my heart goes out to those who were injured and the families who are also in the process of planning funerals for their loved ones.

However, there are a few things with which I am struggling. Please bear with me as I point out some deficiencies in what we are seeing and hearing played out in front of us. This article is not meant to demean the suffering of those injured or the grief of the families of those killed in anyway.

First, let’s consider a little history lesson. The media has already found out that the suspects are of Chechen heritage. During the breakup of the USSR in the early 1990′s, Chechnya became its own self-proclaimed republic, but during the second war with Russia, it was brought back under control of the Russian Federation. The predominant religion of Chechnya is and remains Islam. Down through the last twenty plus years of fighting between Chechnya and Russia, we have heard of the extremist and separatist movements within the country as well as the acts of terrorism that have been perpetrated upon neighboring countries. The most notable was when a group of terrorists (which included Chechen nationals) took over an elementary school and eventually killed 334 children and staff before being killed.

Secondly, many within the Muslim communities of America are frightened right now because they fear that this will reflect on their heritage and their so-called peace-loving religion. In fact, before the media even found out about the current suspects, they were interviewing members and leaders of the Muslim community, who in turn stated that as soon as they heard of the bombing that they were hoping that the bombers were not of the Islamic faith. This is always of great interest to me because the Quran (Koran, etc) allows for the subjugation and killing of infidels.

I found it interesting that the media was able to find the father of the two current suspects overseas. In a recorded interview he commented that if his sons were killed in the manhunt that “all hell would break loose” upon those who killed them. Hmmmmm, doesn’t sound very peace-loving to me?

Why would the Muslims be afraid that a follower of Islam would seek to follow the dictates of his conscience and of what are considered to be the holy writings of this religion? Islam has long built a slavish following by the use of a bloody sword across great swathes of Asia and Africa. Many in the media and our government would have us to believe Islam a peace-loving religion and that extremists, separatists, and terrorists are a rare breed that just uses the Quran and Islam as a means to justify their killing and mayhem. Yet, this is not rare.

Islam enslaves over a billion people in the world. Women live in fear and bondage across many countries in Asia and Africa. Christians are being slaughtered in a vain attempt to stop the growth of Biblical Christianity from spreading in many countries on these two continents.

Third, despite the fact that the current suspects are Muslim, I have yet to read of any Muslim leaders giving interviews condemning the killing of innocent civilians. In fact, I cannot recall any interviews given by Muslim leaders living here in the “Great Satan” called America casting condemnation against the brutalities of their fellow brethren around the world. While they sit here and enjoy every privilege and protection afforded natural-born US citizens, their caustic and hateful rhetoric against America continues to grow month after month.

It is to the point now that our government finds itself in a similar situation to countries in Europe that have a new breed of terrorists – home grown ones. These are people who were born here, raised here all their lives, sound just like us, played American sports, gained great educations, lived the American dream, etc.

Why is this? Very simply because their religion permits whatever means is necessary in order to enslave the people of the world to the dictates of Islam. If you don’t believe that this is the underlying intent and purpose of the religion of Islam, then I invite you to take a trip over to Africa or Asia. Proclaim at the border of a country whose laws are based on the religion of Islam that you are Bible believing Christian and a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Or, just wait until you arrive at a local marketplace. Stand and proclaim boldly that Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to heaven and find out what happens.

Another reason you will not hear any condemnation and that we will continue to see an increase of terrorism is that those who adhere to Islam are not Americans first, they are Muslims first. This is not surprising for this is the way of many religions. A Catholic is expected to give allegiance to Catholicism, a Buddhist to the tenets of Buddhism, and a Hindu to the teachings of Hinduism. Even true biblical Christianity believes and teaches this. We sing, “This world is not our home and we are just passing through.” We claim that we are but pilgrims and sojourners passing through and that our primary allegiance is to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The difference though is that biblical Christianity cannot and NEVER has been able to gain converts through the use of force. A person does not become a true believer in Christ at the point of a sword.

Sadly, I am not convinced that we have seen the end of terrorism here in America. I believe it will continue and we may very well see more acts of terror and in larger scale. As long as our country fails to admit the realities of the ideologies that separate many Americans from those in the Muslim faith, no direct action will ever be forthcoming. Muslim terrorists will continue to infiltrate our country and civilians will lose their lives while the media and the government attempt to put whatever spin they can on the situation in order to keep the gullible public from knowing the truth, and also to keep them from thinking that there is an enemy that has been permitted to reside in our midst.

Now, having stated a few facts about Islam, the question for us is what can we do about this problem? No, I am not referring to picking up guns or swords and beginning another crusade against all foreigners who hold to Islam. The problem is much larger than winning a few battles, and it will not end even if all the current haters of America were killed by our troops and bombs overseas. Another batch of haters would soon arise and the war would begin again.

The biggest issue by far is how we we as true Christians approach these people who are our neighbors. Do we ignore them and hope they will one day “go back to where they came from?” In a recent post, I shared a few thoughts about who is our neighbor, and I am convinced that Muslims are also our neighbors. We should go out of our way to not only see them as a neighbor, but to also seek to show them the grace and love of God that has been shed abroad in our hearts.

Reality hurts when we realize that we are not that far removed from those who seek to use terrorism to further their cause. Currently, we have troops in several different countries. They have been killing enemy forces but there have also been many confirmed civilians killed by our forces. If we had enemy troops here in America who were killing innocent civilians, I am certain that we would also probably revolt against such invasions of tyranny. Yet, our government somehow thinks that it is above the laws and protection that it imposes on its own people yet denies to the civilian populations of other sovereign countries.

Regardless of what our government is doing and the anger that they fueling in other lands and in the hearts of those who hold to a religion other than Christianity, again, the question is – what are we doing?

Do we fuel our minds on the news that talks about how “at least 3 dead” but fail to give one moment of concern for the killed civilians in foreign lands who are going directly to hell without having heard the gospel even once? These were husbands, wives, brothers, and sisters of somebody just as were the victims of those in the Boston Marathon bombing. We weep for those we do not know because they were Americans, but fail to weep for those killed because they are lost and bound for a Christ-less eternity.

Few probably wonder what difference it might have made if those who came here looking for a new life of freedom had found the open arms of biblical Christians waiting to welcome them. I myself have to wonder what difference it would make if I spent as much time not only praying for their salvation but also showing the truth of John 3:16 instead of fueling the depravity of my own heart with the gory details of how one more Muslim killed some civilians. Again, this is not meant in anyway to demean the heartache being suffered by the families in Boston.

This post is simply an attempt for us who are Christians to give some consideration as to what should be our priorities. Either we believe that Christ came into the world to save sinners, or we believe by our actions that He only came into the world to save Westerners and especially white Americans!

Yes, without a doubt, Islam is a bloody religion. More will continue to die and some will sacrifice their own lives in order to obtain a reward that is not going to be awaiting them. However, Christianity is a religion that should be showing forth that Christ has provided forgiveness to our own hearts. We as true believers should be spending much time showing to the world that we are able to forgive those who do wrong against us, that we are striving each day to learn to love our neighbors, and that our goal is to fulfill the second greatest commandment given by Christ.

We must stop hating people because they hate the policies and practices of the American government. We must show them that the real reason we can love them is because we have been forgiven for our sins that are no less or no greater than the ones they have committed. Our faith, not the flawed policies of our government, must dictate the direction of our hearts and our actions. If this world is not our home, then our marching orders proceed from our Commander-in-Chief through the pages of the Holy Scriptures.

Loving those who come from a background of terrorism will never be easy, but the real enemy is NOT Islam. The real enemy is not an Iraqi, an Iranian, or an Afghani. The real enemy is the enemy of our souls – the evil one, Satan himself. As long as he blinds the hearts and minds of unbelievers (either American or foreign), there will be no peace. However, when the Holy Spirit makes a man or a woman a new creation in Christ, all the old things will pass away and all things will become new.

To conclude, I am saddened not only for the families who are suffering, but also for the families of the suspected terrorists. They will never have the hope of hearing their loved ones have placed their faith in Christ. Yes, they chose their own deceptive path, but the reality of hell still awaits them. Judgment Day has arrived for them when they take their last breath. In the meantime, I have to wonder how many true believers these men may have met, and further, how many of them spent time praying for these individuals or even seeking to show them the love of Christ.

First, I want to clarify that I do not believe that all counselors are operating contrary to the Scriptures. Neither do I believe that those who seek the counsel of a professional counselor are or should be automatically considered to be in sin against God. Further, I understand that not all pastors or elders are willing to address subjects that they feel is beyond their knowledge in a particular area.

The issue that we are seeking to make clear is that for a believer, the very first recourse should be to the Word of God, not what the latest so-called Christian psychobabble has to say about the problem being addressed. In addition, the first recourse for the pastors or elders should not be the Yellow Pages under the heading of Counseling, but should be the Word of God.

Professional counselors have taken off in popularity and sadly, the role of pastors and elders means that too often they are failing in their God-ordained responsibility to care for the sheep. Pastors and elders, we are commanded to feed the sheep. This does not mean just for 45 minutes on a Sunday morning and maybe an extra 30 minutes on a mid-week Bible study.

It is imperative that we bring ourselves back to the ministries that were found under the leadership of men like Richard Baxter who would spend hours a week discipling his flock either in his own home or in their home. Yes, this is work, but being willing to disciple others is the only way we will know the hurt, the pain, and the straying of our flocks. It is rank foolishness to think that our people are perfectly fine without any attention during the remaining 166 1/2 hours per week that they are in the world. I am saddened when I have heard pastors say, “I didn’t know they were even struggling in that area!”

Granted, while much of the responsibility for this lack is on the shoulders of pastors and elders, there are times that church members do not want us to get that close. However, I am convinced that this is due to a lack of teaching on the importance of continued discipleship. By our actions and by our teaching, we sometimes are guilty of allowing those who are in fellowship to think that worship is what we do on a Sunday morning between 10:30 – 12:00 noon.

So, the heart of the problem facing the church today is not necessarily professional counselors. Although that can and continues to be a problem in many instances, the biggest problem is that believers in our churches are seeking help outside the confines of the local assembly. The church collectively is to be there to assist in bearing the burdens of one another.

Another difficulty comes when the professional counselor is operating outside the confines or strictures of a local church setting. This means that the person who is being counseled is now no longer accountable for their sin and their testimony before their brothers and sisters. They can hide behind an individual with a professional degree who is bound by confidentiality not to divulge any information to others. Thus, when a marriage is breaking down, a daughter gets pregnant out of wedlock, or a child finds themselves dealing with an addiction, the church and leadership can no longer help because they are often completely unaware of the problems.

Let’s now proceed to the second concern.

One person commented about the pitfalls of online or social media and asked for further thoughts. Just as it is wrong to think that worship is only what we do on Sunday, it is also wrong to think that there is only a danger in counseling if we are face to face with an individual.

A standard definition of counseling is – The provision of assistance and guidance in resolving personal, social, or psychological problems and difficulties.

Counseling is not black and white and neither are the settings in which counseling can be accomplished. This can take place in person, at a coffee shop in an informal type setting, over the phone, through text messaging, emails, or even Instant Messaging via a social media like Facebook.

Pastors, it is true that many in our congregations are probably using a wide variety of social medias in order to communicate with one another. While this post is not meant to belabor the futility of solving problems on Twitter, MySpace, or text messages, there is something to be said for the deplorable conditions that dictate to us that we can somehow accomplish much counsel or disciple through the means of 140 characters or less at a time.

Further, I am not decrying the use of social media formats for connecting with friends and family, there is a pitfall that has taken far too many down the path of ruin. It is a path and a pitfall that could have been avoided had the individuals who found themselves trapped been more careful to begin with.

Before I elaborate, let me reiterate what we say we already believe about marriage. Marriage is designed by God to be a complete covenant that focuses on God and is solely between one man and one woman. Men/pastors/elders/teachers/leaders, this means that every area of our life should be like an open book to our spouse. Too many are walking a very thin line that delineates between what is hers, what is his, and what is theirs together. This is a wrong and dangerous answer.

Let me make this very plain and simple. My wife and I have identical passwords to all of our computers and have the same passwords for each of the online social media formats with which we engage during the week. We have made a deliberate decision that each one of us cannot seek to hide contacts or messages from one another. If I have to fear what my wife would think about my online conversations, then I am breaking my marriage vows to have her in my heart and no other til death us do part.

If there is a reason that I find myself having to communicate with a female via email (as an example), my wife is fully involved. This not only protects the person to whom I am writing, but also protects us. There are times when I have been asked for pastoral counsel or advice, but just as I refuse to counsel a woman alone in my office, I have the same standards even when not face to face. This means that I also have made a point not to spend time alone using Instant Messenger with a woman who is not my wife.

Brothers, I cannot stress this enough, YOU MUST GUARD YOUR HEART! You must protect the wife of your youth. How can we possibly express concern over our children failing to guard their thought life if they see us spending time with somebody to whom we are not married. Men, we cannot fall into the trap of being willing to share confidences with another woman for it will eventually steal part of your heart away.

Sisters, I implore you as well to be careful with social media. It can prove easy to spend time sharing thoughts and concerns with a friend, but far harder to to keep from eventually sharing your heart. There is no part of your marriage problems that I need to be personally aware of if I am required to keep that information from my wife.

While I am covering this area, I believe it is not just Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace that is the problem. Areas that involve RPG’s (role playing games) or MPG’s (multi-player games) are detrimental to both your time as well as the well-being of your heart. You will be forced to interact in a fantasy world that will require you to share things that come from your own personal situation.

Sadly, more and more marriages are ending in divorce because men and women have foolishly failed to see the dangers of spending time alone with someone of the opposite sex. This is true whether face-to-face or in a chat room or any other social media format. If you do not guard your heart from all attacks, then do not be surprised if you end up losing the battle.

Pastors and elders, while social media can be used to further the message of the gospel, we must seek to warn our brothers and sisters of the dangers lurking in the electronic world in which we live. The dangers are very real and cannot be avoided. May the Lord help us to stand firm and resolute in a world that cares not one little bit whether our marriages or ministries survive.

Sadly, the man hearing the sentence was none other than Jack Schaap, pastor of First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana and the president of Hyles-Anderson College. Schaap was guilty of many sins against God, but the crime that brought him, his family, and his ministry into disgrace was transporting a young girl across state lines with the purpose of having sexual relations with her. Some would claim that his problems started by counseling the girl by himself, but the reality is that the problems started long before that.

What is even sadder than Schaap’s downfall is that the breaking of marriage vows and illicit sexual relationships have been a thorn in the side of the ministries founded by Jack Hyles. Hyles, Jack Schaap’s father-in-law, will long be remembered as a man of similar passions in that he was accused of failing to keep his own vows, yet was permitted to remain as both pastor and president of one of the largest Baptist churches and Bible schools in the world.

My heart is sad for what this man and his family will have to go through over the years to come. I am also sad for the young girl who was duped into believing that her pastor was looking out for her best interests in providing many counseling sessions. While I am not going to dissect his ministry, there are a few lessons that must be present or we will find this kind of crime an on-going issue within our churches.

Could this have been prevented? Yes, most definitely! Will this be the last event of this type to bring disgrace into the churches? Sadly, no, it will not be. The way in which this can be prevented and the reasons for why this disgrace will continue is what I wish to address.

Charles Spurgeon, pastor of Metropolitan Tabernacle in London during the late 1800′s, commented to the men that he trained that there were two areas which would quickly bring a preacher to ruin – money and women.

This great advice has probably been reiterated by many men down through the years and is still being taught in several Bible colleges in Counseling 101 and/or Pastoral Theology classes. The problem though is that pastors often forget what they have been taught or they choose to ignore what they were taught because they think they are above the problems facing other pastors who have fallen into sin. They believe they are strong enough to withstand temptations.

Let me attempt to provide a little advice about the dangers of counseling that I have been taught and I pray will keep each of us from falling. I know that such a fall can only be prevented by the aid and strength of the Holy Spirit, but it would behoove each of us to be watchful in humility before God. Pride often can get in the way, and we do not take heed, we will fall.

Pastors, elders, and leaders, I humbly implore each of us to remember the dangers of ministry, especially in the realm of counseling. There is nothing better the evil one would like than to see each leader in local churches collapse in sin and bring dishonor to themselves, their families and the church. I am so sad to see the decline of the church today and I am convinced that much of our current state could be averted if church leaders were being more careful in how they interact with the brothers and sisters in their congregations when it comes to counseling.

First, while we are not going to dwell on this aspect of counseling at this point, we must ensure that all counseling must begin, continue, and end with the Word of God.

Counseling that is based on the latest worldly perspectives, the teachings of Freud, Skinner, James Dobson, etc., or based on any other style that is not centered completely on the Scriptures is wrong and should be considered as unacceptable to any true believer, and its usage should be shunned by all leaders within each local church.

Second, we must remember that there are pitfalls to be avoided. This one cannot be stressed enough. DO NOT COUNSEL ALONE! I remember my Dad teaching his first class to men desiring to be in the ministry. In that class, he reiterated this and it was a principle that I have watched him live by for over 30 years of ministry.

Leaders, we have NO business counseling a young person or a woman without another elder or our wife present with us. There is nothing that can be said, or that needs to be said, in a counseling session that should remain hidden from either our spouse or from another fellow elder. If a person insists that they want to counsel with us alone, my recommendation would be to remind them of your rules and your number one priority – to glorify God in all things. For us to glorify God, we must keep from any possible means of reproach. If they still insist, then I would have good reason to think that they are not coming to you for the right reasons.

Further, one of the reasons this pastor in Indiana fell is because he failed to be accountable to other elders and because his church failed to ensure that he was not a law unto himself. Had he placed himself under the care of godly men just as he demanded from others, I cannot help but wonder whether he would be home tonight with his wife and family instead of counting hours in fear in a windowless cell with a door made of steel bars.

Men, we have NO business allowing our spouses to be counseled by another man without being present with her. If my wife and I need to be counseled, then we should be sitting down together to address our sin and failures. When this is done, we move forward. However, the dangers facing a married couple are HUGE and can often prove to be disastrous if we seek to relegate our God-given responsibilities to somebody whom God has not ordained to be the spiritual leader to our wife or our children. Husbands, we are failing in our vows when we give the care of our wife’s heart into the care of another man. If you have no problem with such an event, then you should not be surprised if immorality is the end result. Even if immorality does not take place, we are still responsible before God to protect her from harm.

Ladies, with due respect, I love my wife too much not to have firewalls in place when I am seeking to give counsel or when somebody is coming to me for counsel. I struggle with enough problems not to face the reality that failure is only a few missteps away at any time. There is nothing that you can say that requires me to have a vow of silence between my wife and I. There is nothing you need to say and nothing that I need to hear that would require me to spend time alone with a woman that is not my wife.

Parents, we are acting in a foolish manner if we are permitting our young children to be counseled by anybody in a private situation where they are alone with the counselor. It is our responsibility to care for them as a gift from God for only a short time.

Had the parents of the young lady in the sordid tale from Hammond, Indiana, been more observant and taken their responsibility more seriously to protect their daughter, she would never have been alone with her pastor! While the pastor was wrong, so were they for allowing the situation to get out of hand. Their daughter lost her purity and is scarred for life because their pastor failed to be a man of integrity and because they blindly put their trust in a man who was human. He was lifted up to a status to which no minister should ever be raised.

I realize that some may think this is harsh, but this is a harsh world in which we live. We are responsible first and foremost to our Lord to hold fast our testimony. We will fail to keep that testimony if we do not protect our hearts and our minds from the dangers that are constantly pressing in upon us. Husbands, it is our duty to disciple our families. If more were doing this according to Biblical patterns, there would be far less need to go to “counselors.”

This warning is not meant to paint all counselors with the same brush. It is my desire that it be an encouragement to us as we pursue the way of the Master in an area of our lives that we have fallen prey to the idea that counseling is a paid profession and that it is to be done in a secretive manner that can be detrimental (and often has been) to the bonds that unite husbands and wives, and also to the bonds that help bring parents and children together.

Lord willing, I intend on sharing more thoughts on counseling in the near future. My prayer is that this will prove helpful to our readers.

First, we live in a litigious society. Counseling is a two-edged sword that can produce good results or it can result in a person suing the counselor because of what they have heard. This problem is compounded when pastors and churches absolutely refuse to counsel because they fear what might happen.

Second, the introduction of counseling degrees has placed the responsibility for the spiritual care of church members into the hands of paid professionals that normally operate outside the structure of a local church context. This means that those who are entrusted with the “care for your soul” are often relinquishing part of a vital ministry that can make a huge difference in the person being counseled.

Third, when there is counseling, there must inevitably be some form of discipline that must be enacted. Whether this is self-discipline, one-to-one, or in extreme cases where the problems must be addressed by the elders and the local church, discipline is just as necessary as counseling. Biblical counseling is the means whereby we are able to assist those in our midst to grow in the grace of God.

Fourth, quite possibly the biggest issue that is being faced in the church today is that pastors have failed to teach their people in the complete sufficiency of the Word of God. Oh, the Sunday School lesson or a sermon every now and then might state that we believe this, but the outworking of our lives show something completely different. We will often search the internet, browse the newspapers, or visit the local Christian bookstore for the latest and greatest self-help manual. Yet, the answers to all that pertains to life and godliness is to be found in the Word of God.

When we relegate how we are to live our lives and how we are to address the issues of life apart from the Word of God, then we will only prove to the world that our use of the term Sola Scriptura is but mere lip service. Therefore, instead of addressing the heart issues that underlie what is wrong in our lives, we pay a professional to help us feel better about ourselves or to build up our self-esteem.

The bottom line is that we should not be surprised when the brothers and sisters in the congregation continue to struggle if they are being sent to a counselor. It will be a rare counselor that reverts automatically to the Word of God to show the real issue is the depravity of the heart and rebellion against a thrice-holy God that drives the problems we find in local churches. There are further problems that arise through the lack of local church connection. If the counseling is not working and sin is not being addressed, then the elders and local church will often have no recourse to enact discipline for the purpose of restoration.

We recognize that the realm of counseling covers a wide array of sub-topics – drugs, marriage, family, child, sexual dependency, alcohol, etc. Sadly, I fear that many think that only a professional and often highly-paid individual can possibly have the answers to whatever is wrong with you or your family member. The normal scenario means that an individual who needs help with make an appointment to see a counselor. The moment arrives when the individual walks into the counselor’s office and the counselor normally wants to know how you are feeling or what kind of emotions are you struggling with. A counselor will not tell the person being counseled that they are a sinner and they are in need of a Savior. They will probably not tell them that it is out of the mouth that the heart speaks and that whatever is hidden in the recesses of your heart will often come out with whatever addiction or problem the person is facing.

People become dependent upon drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, self-harm, etc. because their hearts are not right with God. The automatic answer is not Ritalin, Valium, or a host of other prescription medication. The answer is not finding others who will build your self-esteem and make you feel valuable again.

As more and more address their concerns outside the confines of the local church, pastors often grow discouraged as they watch people come and go. They will watch as various individuals face growing problems within their marriages or with their children. As the problems mount, the pastor wrings his hands hoping that somebody can offer assistance. They then go to a counselor and countermand much of what the pastor should be declaring as the truth of God’s Word. When the individual or family thinks that their problems are solved, they find they have no need of the church and attendance drops off drastically.

When a counselor is the go-to-person instead of the elders, the leadership will struggle with how to provide spiritual guidance or even know how to pray. When marriages end in divorce, a child ends up pregnant or they commit suicide, the leaders will have to be faced with the reality that the answer was always available. And either God’s Word is sufficient for all things and is our guide to life, or it is but another self-help manual that is good for some and not for others.

Lord willing, there will be more to come as I address some thoughts on the dangers of counseling found within the local church.

In this seminary lecture he covers three areas – 1) the historical background of biblical counseling, 2) the theological foundation of biblical counseling, and 3) the practical process of biblical counseling.

Our prayer is that it will be both an encouragement to pastors or future pastors and even to those who serve in other aspects of ministry but not necessarily leadership roles.

Our prayer is that it will be both an encouragement to pastors or future pastors and even to those who serve in other aspects of ministry but not necessarily leadership roles.

It is a very good book – I was surprised by it. One excellent tool in this book is the chart below, documenting the differences between these two main groups of Baptists: those who hold to the particular redemption that Christ applies only to the elect and those who hold to a general redemption in which Christ died for all men.

Comparison Between Particular and Genera – L. Russ Bush

Our prayer is that it will be both an encouragement to pastors or future pastors and even to those who serve in other aspects of ministry but not necessarily leadership roles.

Had the story ended there, we might have concluded that the lawyer was well on his way to being a true believer. But the next section reveals the real problem within the heart of the young man. Instead of accepting the words of Jesus, he continues by asking, “But who is my neighbor?” Luke the physician reveals an interesting note under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The lawyer asks this because he seeks to justify himself. In other words, he wants to be able to pick and choose who he accepts as his neighbor.

The Lord then relates one of the most famous parables to reiterate to this young man steeped in the law of Moses what it meant to love your neighbor. In the end, Jesus brings the man to the point where he has to acknowledge that the person who is the true neighbor is the one who is willing to step outside his own comfort zone to reach out to those who are in need. A true neighbor is also the person who is willing to help those who cannot help themselves or even reciprocate.

So, how can we apply this to our own lives? I am glad you asked. Let me see if I can share some of my thoughts about the process of finding out both who are neighbor may be and also what kind of neighbor we are being.

It is easy for many to get misty-eyed when they see the need for clean water in Africa, or the need for better medicine at the orphanages in Central America, or the need for massive food supplies to be delivered to the starving masses in Darfur in western Sudan. There is nothing wrong with this, and is actually quite commendable. Unfortunately, there are some who would see pictures of babies with bloated bellies and would simply turn a blind eye just like the priest and the Levite did to the poor man who had been robbed.

However, in this age where social justice is the buzzword on the lips of many, including pastors and churches, I am afraid that we have relegated our vision to just seeing neighbors as being those who are far away in other lands. In our desire to overcome our own feelings of guilt about having been born in America, we seek to fulfill the commands of Christ to love our neighbor by showering the poor parts of the world with money.

Again, there is nothing wrong with helping those who are much less fortunate than ourselves. The danger comes when we seek to justify ourselves because of what we have given and NOT because of what we must be doing. It is much easier to give money to dig a well than it is to go overseas and dig the well yourself. It is much easier to give “x” amount of money to feed the hungry than it is to fix plates of sandwiches and go help in a homeless shelter. It is also easier to send money than it is to travel abroad and be forced to look into the eyes of hundred of children that you cannot possibly feed and then sit down with your family to enjoy a nice meal simply because you have been blessed with the resources to buy good food.

On another vein of social justice, we can even find ourselves taking up certain causes that anger or provoke us such as abortion or the death penalty or socialized medicine or whatever. We attack those who are not like us or do not agree with us, and we are driven with the idea that we must get everybody else to love their neighbor by holding a sign or railing on the internet or posting videos, etc.

In reality, we have failed to recognize our own failures to keep the law of God and that is to love our neighbor as ourselves. There is no third command to love ourselves. The New Testament assumes that we do this very well.

While these aspects of concern may show that we live like the Good Samaritan and try to help those who are downtrodden, I am afraid that we have often forgotten that the Samaritans were the people right next door to the Jews. They were not on “the other side of the pond.” These were two groups of people who would see each other, sometimes on a weekly or monthly basis just walking up and down the dusty roads of Judea and Samaria.

In my own life, I have found it easier to see my neighbor as the “foreign mission field.” Our family has had the privilege of serving in ministry on three continents, but I wonder how much effort I have spent or how much effort do I spend or even how much effort am I willing to spend in order to show that I desire in my heart to fulfill both of the greatest commandments?

Within my local confines, I have neighbors who are Roman Catholic, or Mormon, or some other cult. I have neighbors who do not go to church and may not recognize the name of Jesus Christ apart from its usage as a curse word. It is quite probable that in my desire to see abortion outlawed that I have overlooked those who may be hurting from past sin within my community. We live in a country that prides itself on the saying that every man’s home is his castle. We step inside after a long day at the office, close the gates, raise the drawbridge, fill the moat with water and alligators, raise the flag on the ramparts, and then retire to our living room or lounge to watch the latest sitcoms. After a great amount of time wasted in frivolous activity, we peek out our windows and dare the world to invade our spaces.

I am convinced that we have failed in recognizing that our neighbors are neighbors not just because they live on either side of our brick and mortar homes. They are neighbors because they are in need of help just as much as those who live in Third World countries. The couple next door may not need food or assistance in paying for their clean water, but if they do not know the Lord, they are in grave danger. They have been systematically robbed by the designs of the evil one. Their homes have been attacked and assaulted by humanistic philosophy and vain traditions of men.

Dear reader, our neighbors are just like the man lying on the side of the road to Jericho. They need to be helped. They do not need, nor do they want, us to look down our noses with the air of religiosity as though we are accomplishing great things for the Lord because we send a small part of our resources overseas. These neighbors need to know that we are about more than helping out at a shelter, or picketing an abortion clinic, or railing on the world in whatever way makes us feel good about ourselves. All we are doing is acting like the young lawyer and trying to justify ourselves.

Our neighbors need us to let down our guard. We must learn to be approachable in a way that we can be ready to give an answer to any who ask of the reason of the hope that is in us, AND to do so in a way that shows a heart and a life that is filled by meekness and fear.

Too often, many who claim to know Christ think that they are fulfilling the Great Commission by sending stuff or by relegating the actual work to the pastor, elders, or missionaries. The truth is that each one of us are called to obey Christ. Every true believer must seek to be a servant to others just as the Good Samaritan did to the Jew who fell on hard times on the road to Jericho.

It is interesting to note that we are never told what the reaction was of the man who was robbed. The reason is not really relevant, because the Samaritan was going to help out whether it was appreciated or not. The man who was robbed might have turned right around after getting better and started belitting those dogs, those heathen, those Samaritans again. The Good Samaritan took it upon himself to help the man, bind his wounds, took him to an inn, paid for his medical care, and even promised to return and pay more money if that is what it took to get the man better. There was no cause nor desire on the part of the Samaritan for reciprocity. We are not even told that the man he helped thanked him for all he had done.

Today, I want to encourage each of you to think about our own lives. If we are doing nothing, then we must seek forgiveness from our Savior for not fulfilling the second of the greatest commandments. Maybe we are doing a little but have forgotten about the neighbor beside us. Again, we must remember that those around us are in far greater need than a meal or clean water. They are dying. Their house is burning down very quickly and soon they will face eternity. We have the words of life that can bring hope and to sit inside our little castles and let others throw out the life preservers is a great sin.

It is time that we stop attempting to justify who we are, who are neighbors may be, and simply learn to love the world around us just as Christ did when He walked this Earth. We all have neighbors, and our ultimate privilege and responsibility is to look beyond our own pettiness and selfish ambitions and see how we can learn and act upon the principles found in the account of the Good Samaritan.

The Savior closed out His teaching session by asking the lawyer who of the three (priest, Levite, or Samaritan) was a true neighbor. The lawyer responded that it was the one who showed mercy. The greatest show of mercy that we can do to others is to reveal to them that Jesus Christ is alive, to reveal to them that He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and then to reveal to them that our love is genuine for them and we do not desire for them to face the wrath of a thrice-holy God when they pass from this life into the next.